THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LEVINSON-BASED COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY ON PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF METHAMPHETAMINE-DEPENDENT PATIENTS

Introduction: Methamphetamine is a stimulant and addictive substance which strongly stimulates brain and nervous system and has a higher chemical effect as compared to amphetamine. There is no uniform biologic therapy for the abuse of this substance. Therapeutic focuses are centralized on psychological interventions. The present research aimed at examining the effectiveness of Levinson-based cognitive-behavioral therapy on psychological well-being of methamphetamine-dependent patients. Materials and methods: Research method was of quasi-experimental type and sample size included 30 methamphetamine-dependent men who were selected through convenience sampling method and were randomly divided into two groups, namely experiment group (n=15) and control group (n=15). The Ryff Psychological Well-being Scales were used for data collection. In the data analysis process, frequency, mean and standard deviation were used for descriptive data and covariance analysis was used for inferential analyses. Results: The results showed that overall average of psychological well-being in experimental group was higher in the post-test stage than in pre-test stage. Moreover, the results of covariance analysis showed that there was a significant difference between experimental and control groups in the post-test stage (P<0.001). Conclusion: Considering the obtained results it can be concluded that Levinson-based cognitive-behavioral therapy was effective in increasing the psychological well-being of methamphetamine-dependent individuals. In this way, psychologists and counselors working at drug abuse treatment centers are recommended to use Levinson-based cognitive-behavioral therapy together with pharmacologic treatments and alleviate physical symptoms to increase psychological well-being.