Effectiveness of Hope Therapy Protocol on Depression and Hope in Amphetamine Users

BACKGROUND: Addiction has surpassed the boundaries of health and treatment and turned into a social crisis and a debilitating and major concern in today’s world. Amphetamine, one of the addictive drugs, is classified as psycho-stimulants drugs, which increase arousal, alertness, and motor activity. Humans report that this drug produces a significant euphoria and is highly addictive. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of hope therapy protocol (HTP) on depression reduction and hope increase in amphetamine users. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study has a quasi-experimental design with experimental and control groups. The sample included all amphetamine consumers referring to day drug addiction treatment center in Ray City, Iran, selected with convenience method. In order to analyze the data, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was applied using SPSS software. RESULTS: The results showed that F value of mean scores in depression and hope post-tests of the experimental and control groups are 24.94 and 25.73, respectively, which are significant (P < 0.01). Therefore, hope therapy training could reduce depressive symptoms in amphetamine consumers and improve their hope. CONCLUSIONS: Performing HTP can improve hopefulness and symptoms of patients, specially addicted ones. In addition, it can prevent substance abusers from returning to drugs and leaving the treatment period unfinished.