A comparative evaluation of cognitive -behavioral therapy and insight -oriented psychotherapy in the treatment of comorbid substance abuse, anxiety, and depression in substance abusing females

Substance abuse accounts for over 200,000 deaths annually in American females---more than four times the number who will die of breast cancer. While female addiction is at epidemic proportions, treatment continues to focus on males and their substance abuse. Furthermore, it is questionable whether treatment designed for male substance use can be generalized to female substance users. This is compounded by the dearth of studies that examine treatment of female substance abuse.;A pretest-posttest comparative experimental design was used to evaluate whether Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Insight-Oriented Psychotherapy was more efficacious in the treatment of substance abuse in a female population. The final sample for this study consisted of 17 participants who were randomly assigned to the two treatment conditions via a table of random numbers.;Chi-square analysis indicated that there was no significant difference between the two treatment conditions on any demographic variable. Dependent variables include Drug- and Alcohol-Status, Psychosocial variables, anxiety and depression. Instruments used included the Structured Clinical Interview using the DSM, the Addiction Severity Index, and the Profile Of Mood States. Each group counseling session lasted for 90 minutes and convened weekly for a period of eight weeks.;Statistical analyses included Means, standard deviations, effect size, and MANOVA procedures. The major findings in this study include: neither IOP or CBT was effective in increasing psychosocial functioning of the current sample; CBT was over ten times more effective than IOP in the reduction of alcohol use; CBT was four times more effective than IOP in the reduction of drug use; CBT was two times more effective than IOP in the reduction of anxiety; and, CBT was three times more effective than IOP in the reduction of depression.;The current findings suggest that (1) IOP treatment is not the treatment of choice for females with a history of substance abuse who are in the early stages of recovery; (2) females can respond well to treatment based on a cognitive-behavioral paradigm; (3) treatment approaches designed for male veterans can be applied to a female population within an outpatient community mental health setting.