Effectiveness of Group Cognitive Therapy Based on Mindfulness and Spiritual Schema Activation in the Prevention of Opioid Abuse Relapse

The main aim of this project was to evaluate the effect of group cognitive therapy based on mindfulness and spiritual schema activation on reducing relapse in opioid abuse. In an experimental study, 90 patients with the diagnosis of opioid dependence based on DSM-IV criteria were randomly assigned to two experimental and one control groups. The experimental groups took 12 two-hour sessions of group therapy. The subjects were evaluated using the Opiate Treatment Index (OPI), General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), and the Questionnaire of the Effect of Spirituality on Behavior, before the beginning of treatment, at the twelfth session and follow-up, four months after treatment. The control group did not take group therapy and was merely treated with naltrexone. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and c2 test. The data showed that both group cognitive therapy based on mindfulness and spiritual schema activation and cognitive behavior therapy were more effective than naltrexone in relapse prevention (p<0.01), compliance, treatment retention (p<0.0001), decreasing the amount of drug abuse, somatic symptoms, anxiety, social dysfunction, and health imrprovement (p<0.01). It seems that cognitive therapy based on mindfulness and spiritual schema activation has a significant additive effect on therapeutic treatment and CBT in opioid abuse relapse.