Effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for co-morbid depression in drug-dependent males

The present study aimed at examining the effect of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in decreasing depression symptoms in dully diagnosed males (drug dependent males with co-morbid depression).An experimental research design with pre- and post-tests and a control group was used. The sample of the study comprised 33 drug-dependent men who also endorsed depression symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). All the selected individuals were assigned randomly to either the intervention group or control group (16 to the intervention and 17 to the control group). The intervention group experienced eight 2-h sessions of training in MBCT. At the end of the training, the subjects were once again evaluated using the BDI-II. Analysis of co-variance was used to analyze the data. The results suggested that MBCT did contribute to a significant decrease in the depression symptoms of the dully diagnosed individuals. It is recommended that the MBCT be used for treating depression in drug-dependent males undergoing detoxification and treatment for their drug dependence.