Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Intervention for Emotion Dysregulation among Patients with Substance Use Disorder

Abstract

The present study examined the efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in reducing emotion dysregulation among patients with SUD. A randomized controlled trial with a pre-test and post-test design was conducted at Umeed-e-Shifa Rehabilitation Centre, Bani Gala. Forty male participants aged 20–40 years meeting DSM-5-TR criteria for SUD were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to an experimental group (MBCT + Treatment as Usual [TAU]) and a control group (TAU only). Emotion dysregulation was assessed using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale–18 (DERS-18). Data were analyzed using paired-sample t-test and independent-sample t-tests on gain scores in IBM SPSS Version 27. Results indicated a significant reduction in emotion dysregulation among participants who received MBCT, with mean scores decreasing from pre-test (M = 49.40, SD = 13.38) to post-test (M = 37.30, SD = 8.62), p < .001. Independent sample t-test comparisons showed significantly greater improvement in the experimental group compared to the control group (p < .001).

Keywords. Substance Use Disorder, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, emotion dysregulation, rehabilitation