Examining the Effectiveness of Emotion Efficacy Therapy on Emotional Memory, Emotion Regulation Strategies, Rumination, and Relapse Tendency in Individuals with Substance Use Disorder Under Methadone Maintenance Treatment

To determine the effectiveness of Emotion Efficacy Therapy on emotional memory, emotion regulation strategies, rumination, and relapse tendency in individuals with substance use disorder undergoing methadone maintenance treatment.

Randomized controlled trial, parallel-group, single-blind (assessor-blinded), with a control group and 1:1 allocation ratio. The sample size is estimated at 30 participants (15 per group). Simple randomization will be used. Data analysis will be performed based on intention-to-treat (ITT) using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA)

the study will be conducted in methadone maintenance treatment clinics in Ahvaz, Iran. two time points (pre-test and post-test) by an assessor psychologist who is blinded to group allocation

Inclusion criteria: Ability to read, write, and attend sessions; providing informed consent; absence of severe mental illnesses (schizophrenia spectrum, bipolar I, severe personality disorders) based on DSM-5 clinical interview; meeting DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for substance use disorder; age 25–45 years; not receiving any concurrent psychological treatment; being treated with methadone for at least the past 3 months.Exclusion criteria: Developing severe psychological disorders during intervention; more than 2 absences from sessions; unwillingness to continue treatment; relapse of substance use (positive morphine test).

Intervention group: Emotion Efficacy Therapy (EET) delivered in 8 weekly 90-minute sessions (based on McKay & West, 2016 protocol).Control group: Structured psychoeducation (8 sessions of 90 minutes including general education on relapse prevention, stress management, and craving coping) for ethical considerations

Emotional memory (EMT); emotion regulation strategies (ERQ); rumination relapse tendency (RPS)

The randomization method is simple (lottery). The names of all eligible and volunteer participants are written on identical separate pieces of paper. A person external to the research, who has no role in patient enrollment or assessment, randomly draws the names from a container

In this study, a single-blind (assessor-blind) method is used. Participants and the therapist cannot be blinded to the type of intervention due to the nature of group psychotherapy and skills training, which makes it impossible to conceal the treatment type from these two groups. However, the assessor responsible for data collection (a clinical psychologist) is completely blinded to group allocation (intervention or control). The assessor has no role in the treatment process and is unaware of the type of intervention received by each participant prior to conducting the post-test. Additionally, the statistical data analyst is also blinded to group allocation, as data are provided using numeric codes without any mention of group names. Thus, bias in outcome measurement and data analysis is minimized.

داده‌های فردی شرکت‌کنندگان به صورت غیرقابل شناسایی (بدون نام و با کد عددی) شامل: نمرات پیش‌آزمون و پس‌آزمون متغیرهای حافظه هیجانی (آزمون حافظه هیجانی)، راهبردهای تنظیم هیجان (پرسشنامه ERQ)، نشخوار فکری (مقیاس RRS) و گرایش به عود (پرسشنامه RPS) به همراه اطلاعات دموگرافیک (سن، جنسیت، وضعیت تأهل، تحصیلات، مدت مصرف، مدت درمان با متادون). فایل راهنمای متغیرها و پروتکل مطالعه نیز ارائه خواهد شد. عنوان و جزیی

Starting six months after publication of the main results (after manuscript acceptance and print) and continuing for 5 years.

Researchers affiliated with recognized academic or research institutions (universities, research centers, teaching hospitals). Requests from industry (private companies) will be considered on a case-by-case basis if the proposed use aligns with research ethics.

Data may be used solely for legitimate and ethical research purposes such as meta-analysis, independent replication, verification of results, or secondary analyses related to substance use disorder, emotion regulation, and emotion efficacy therapies. Commercial use or any attempt to re-identify participants is prohibited. Requests must include a scientific proposal and approval from the requester's institutional ethics committee.

Nassim Rezaei (corresponding researcher / MSc student) via email: Nassim.rre@gmail.com Alternatively, the principal investigator, Dr. Nasrin Jaberghaderi, can be contacted at: n_jg2004@yahoo.com Postal address: Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti Boulevard, Kermanshah, Iran.

Requester sends a written request including a scientific proposal, approval from their institutional ethics committee, and a clear description of the intended use to the above emails. The request will be reviewed by the principal investigator and researcher within 2 weeks. If approved, the requester must sign a data use agreement (committing to no re-identification and no commercial use). After receiving the signed agreement, a download link for the de-identified data (Excel or CSV format) along with a data dictionary will be provided within 1 week. The entire process typically takes less than 1 month.