Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Group Therapy Compared to the Usual Opioid Dependence Treatment

  Objective: This study investigated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based group therapy (MBGT) compared to the usual opioid dependence treatment (TAU).Thirty outpatients meeting the DSM-IV-TR criteria for opioid dependence from Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS) were randomly assigned into experimental (Mindfulness-Based Group Therapy) and control groups (the Usual Treatment).The experimental group undertook eight weeks of intervention, but the control group received the usual treatment according to the INCAS program. Methods:The Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and the Addiction Sevier Index (ASI) were administered at pre-treatment and post-treatment assessment periods. Thirteen patients from the experimental group and 15 from the control group completed post-test assessments. Results:The results of MANCOVA revealed an increase in mean scores in observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judging, non-reacting, and decrease in mean scores of alcohol and opium in MBGT patient group. Conclusion:The effectiveness of MBGT, compared to the usual treatment, was discussed in this paper as a selective protocol in the health care setting for substance use disorders

Case finding in integration of Mental Health Services into Primary Health Care System: systematic review of the studies conducted in Iran in recent two decades

"n "n "nObjective: This study aims at conducting a systematic review of the researches performed to determine case finding rates throughout the integration of Mental Health Services into PHC over recent twenty years . "n "n "nMethod : Through electronic search, major national and international databases including Pubmed, PsychInfo, and EMBase were investigated. All original studies and researches in Persian or English, which had described psychiatric case finding in the PHC, classified as severe and mild mental disorders,epilepsy, mental retardation, and other disorders, were included in the study and were qualitatively assessed. Subsequent to data extraction, heterogeneity test was carried out on all of the studies and each subgroup. Meta-analysis was not applicable as a result of the wide range and heterogeneity of the reported results. "n "n "nResults: Overall, ten studies were included. Case finding rate ranged from 0.07 to 2.04 per thousand for severe mental disorders, 0.5 to 7.6 per thousand for mild mental disorders, 0.5 to 3.9 per thousand for epilepsy, and 0.64 to 3.94 per thousand for mental retardation. "n "n "nConclusion: Case finding rates reported in the selected studies are highly different from the prevalence of the disorders throughout the  ountry. It seems that the program has been functioning more effectively in case of some of the disorders such as mental retardation, while it has been less efficient in finding mild mental disorder cases. These results reflect the fact that despite its partial achievements in the field of case finding, the integration program is still far from the desirable rates and there is need for revision of its content of the integration program especially screening and diagnostic tools, training contents, and implementation methods

The effectiveness of transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral therapy for comorbid insomnia: a case report

Objective: Similar cognitive and behavioral factors underlie and perpetuate insomnia and emotional disorders. This brief case report aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Unified Protocol (UP), a transdiagnostic treatment designed to target emotional disorders in treating comorbid insomnia. Method: The patient was a 32-year-old male, who met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for chronic insomnia, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. After 3 baseline weeks, the patient underwent 14 sessions of UP and was retested after a 1-month follow-up. Consensus Sleep Diary (CSD), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were completed during baseline, treatment, and follow-up. Results: The treatment led to improvements in sleep onset latency, time awake after sleep onset, terminal awakenings, sleep quality, and insomnia severity. These gains were maintained at 1-month follow-up. Conclusion: UP is effective in improving different symptoms of chronic insomnia. Controlled clinical studies with more cases are required to investigate the effects of UP in the treatment of insomnia