Integrated value-based intervention for opioid de-addiction: Introduction and rationale

Pages: 350-353
Gagandeep Kaur and Senthil Kumaran J. (Department of Applied Psychology, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab)

Changing shades of life in the contemporary world gave way to idyllic as well as harmful life style in individuals. One of the modern world’s evils is drug abuse and intensified addiction. Governments all over the world dispatch constant efforts to reduce the drug trafficking by enacting strict laws and enforcing the same. But the corruption of human resource is still high due to drug addictions and the positive potentials of individuals are stunted. Opioid addiction is one such that is characterized by the inability to discontinue opiate abuse and it is a constellation of physiological, behavioral and cognitive phenomena with severe intensity. Medical treatments are preferred in first place to detoxify an addicted individual. However, researchers indicated the effectiveness of psychotherapy after detoxification with various psychotherapeutic approaches in preventing the relapse. It has been proved that positive psychotherapy with a strength-based perspective is not only helping to reduce the drug dependence level but also to enhance the individual potentials. Deriving facts from the studies conducted so far, this conceptual paper aims at proposing a new “Value based psychotherapeutic intervention” with its rationale. This intervention utilizes positive psychotherapy by integrating three techniques viz., a) Religious chanting, b) Yoga exercises and c) Systematic counseling. The intervention is designed so that it enhances the cognitive, affective, behavioural and bodily strengths to recover from opioid addiction with minimal relapse conditions. Also, it is proposed that aim of this intervention is to help the Opioid-Detoxified Clients (ODCs) progress into Optimal Functioning Individuals (OFIs) by making them Intervention- Responding Clients (IRCs) and if applicable, by addressing the needs of Intervention Non-Responding Clients (INRCs).