Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Enriched with Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) on Psychological Distress in Patients under Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT)

Mahdi Shomali Ahmadabadi; Mohsen Zabihi; Atefeh Barkhordari; Qasem  Dastjerdi; Zahra Movahedian; Seyed Moezoddin  Heydari Khormizi; Seyed Reza  Ahmadi Mehrabadi; Zahra Aref

doi:10.18502/aptj.v3i1.12500

Mahdi Shomali Ahmadabadi Department of Psychology, Farhangian University, Yazd, Iran
Mohsen Zabihi Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Atefeh Barkhordari Department of Psychology, Farhangian University, Yazd, Iran
Qasem Dastjerdi Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Taft Psychiatry Hospital, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Zahra Movahedian Department of Psychology, Farhangian University, Yazd, Iran
Seyed Moezoddin Heydari Khormizi Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Seyed Reza Ahmadi Mehrabadi Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Zahra Aref Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/aptj.v3i1.12500

Keywords: Acceptance and Commitment Based treatment, Compassion-Focused treatment, Venlafaxine, Methadone, Mental distress, Sertraline

Abstract

Introduction: Mental problems caused by opioid addiction or drug withdrawal can increase the risk of relapse in methadone maintenance treatment. The present study was conducted to compare the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy enriched with compassion-focused therapy on the effect of sertraline and venlafaxine on patients' psychological distress under methadone maintenance treatment.

Method: This study was a clinical trial with a pre-test and post-test design. Forty patients under methadone maintenance treatment were selected by voluntary sampling and randomly divided into two groups. The first group received acceptance and commitment therapy enriched with compassion-focused therapy and venlafaxine, and the second group received acceptance and commitment therapy enriched with compassion-focused therapy and sertraline for intervention days. The patients were evaluated based on the anxiety, stress, and depression questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the paired t-test and analysis of covariance at a significance level of 0.01.

Results: Both venlafaxine, and sertraline plus acceptance and commitment therapy enriched with compassion-focused therapy, were influential on psychological distress and its dimensions (depression, anxiety, and stress) (P<0.001). Sertraline had a more significant effect on psychological distress, and anxiety than venlafaxine (P<0.01). No significant difference was observed between them on depression and stress (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Sertraline is more effective than Venlafaxine in controlling psychological symptoms in methadone maintenance treatment.