A controlled comparison of cognitive behavioural and traditional counselling in a methadone tapering programme

✍ Scribed by A. Dzialdowski; M. London; J. Tilbury

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 159 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1063-3995
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0879(199803)5:1<47::aid-cpp149>3.0.co;2-1

✦ Synopsis

This study compares traditional counselling with a brief cognitive behavioural (CB) intervention in a group of addicted heroin users participating in a methadone tapering regime (n 50). It was hypothesized that the CB programme would increase short-term engagement, and that this would be reflected in differences in both attrition rates, and in various outcome variables. Some evidence was found in support of the primary hypothesis, in that the CB group exhibited significantly greater improvement in measures of health, depression, self-perception and medical assessment of drug problem. However, no differences in attrition rates across treatment groups were obtained. In addition, comparison between attrition and completion groups showed that the former had significantly less experience of opiate treatment and greater preoccupation with physical symptoms. The implications for incorporating cognitive behavioural treatment into this regime are discussed.