The effectiveness of emotion regulation training and cognitive therapy on the emotional and addictional problems of substance abusers.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of emotional regulation training group therapy, based on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Therapy, on improving emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills and relapse prevention in addicts.

Method: In a quasiexperimental study, 39 patients with the diagnosis of opioid dependence based on DSM-IV criteria were randomly assigned in to two experimental and one control groups. The experimental groups took 10 ninety-minute sessions of group therapy. The subjects were evaluated using the Opiate Treatment Index (OPI), General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), and Distress Tolerance and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scales prior to the start of treatment, and at the sixteenth session. The control group did not take group therapy and was merely treated with naltrexone. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and χ2 test.

Results: Scheffe test showed that both emotion regulation training and cognitive therapy were more effective than naltrexone increasing distress tolerance, emotion regulation enhancement, and decreasing the amount of drug abuse, health improvement, social functioning, somatic symptoms, anxiety, social dysfunction and depression enhancement (P<0.05). In addition, emotion regulation training was more effective than cognitive therapy, increasing distress tolerance and emotional regulation enhancement (p<0.05).

Conclusion: It seems that DBT skill training increase the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy and is more effective than cognitive therapy.