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Heroin Addiction and Related Clinical Problems: 2012, 14, 3 (pages: 101 - 110)

Cognitive behavioural coping skills therapy in cocaine using methadone maintained patients: a pilot randomised controlled trial

Darker C. D., Sweeney B., El Hassan H., Kelly A., Smyth B. P., Barry J.

Summary: A pilot randomised controlled trial to test the effectiveness of delivering cognitive behavioural coping skills (CBCS) to reduce cocaine usage in methadone maintained patients. Recruitment was stopped after forty-five patients were recruited into the study, with twenty-two randomised to TAU and twenty-three randomised to CBCS. CBCS group significantly reduced their cocaine powder usage compared to the TAU group (DiD = -6.65, p<0.03). There was a significant reduction in both cocaine powder (DiD = -7.66, p<0.002) and crack cocaine (DiD = -4.88, p<0.04) between baseline and follow-up across both groups. However, urine toxicology results indicate a slightly larger drop in the percentage positive urines (relative to baseline) occured in the TAU group. Attendance at counselling sessions was very low, with the average attendance at CBCS sessions being 25% and 13% at TAU sessions. For those participants who did attend for counselling, there was a marked decline in the proportion of cocaine positive urines (during treatment and again at week 52).