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Background: The purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary evaluation of treatment outcomes, retention and client satisfaction following a 12-week combined cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and motivational enhancement therapy (MET) group treatment for cannabis use disorder (CUD) delivered in an outpatient setting. Implementation of the program is also described. Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted using data collected from medical records and self-report assessments. Participants were treatment-seeking cannabis users at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto. Cannabis use, cannabis-related problems, craving, withdrawal symptoms, self-efficacy for remaining abstinent, depression and anxiety were assessed pre- and post-treatment. Treatment retention was calculated by inspecting clinic attendance records, and client satisfaction was evaluated using an anonymous feedback survey. Potential predictors of treatment outcomes and retention were investigated in exploratory analyses. Results: Cannabis use was lower and days of abstinence higher post-treatment (vs pre-treatment). Post-treatment improvements in cannabis-related problems, craving, withdrawal symptoms, self-efficacy and mood were also observed. Completion of group treatment (⩾75% of sessions attended) was 57% and moderate levels of treatment satisfaction were reported. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence that a 12-week combined CBT and MET treatment for cannabis use disorder delivered in a novel group setting improves cannabis use outcomes. Potential predictors of reduced cannabis use and retention were identified. Future controlled studies are warranted, and strategies for increasing retention should be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alcohol and other substance use disorders and major depression often co-occur. A sedentary lifestyle is related to major depression and even moderate exercise may prevent and contribute to the treatment of depression. Studies have found an effect of physical activity on depression in alcohol and other substance use disorder patients even in clinical settings. Aim: To investigate the relationship between level of physical activity and depressive symptoms over time in alcohol and substance use disorder inpatients. Methods: Eighty-nine substance use disorder inpatients were followed for 6 months during treatment. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to categorize 3 groups of low, moderate, or high level of physical activity. In addition to background variables and alcohol and drug use measures, data on biometric measures and on sleep were gathered. Becks Depression Inventory version II (BDI-II) measured depressive symptoms. A multilevel logistic regression was used to analyze the longitudinal relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms. Results: Most patients (57%) reported low activity, while 24% reported moderate and 19% high activity. Few changed their activity level during treatment. Moderate physical activity was related to lower score on BDI-II (P =.029). Level of physical activity was closely related to insomnia (P =.024). In the multivariate analysis the relationship between depressive symptoms and physical activity did not withstand the adjustment for insomnia. However, in the multilevel logistic regression higher physical activity was related to lower BDI-II score in a dose dependent manner. Conclusions: Among these alcohol and other substance use disorders patients in treatment, there was a relationship between depressive symptoms and physical activity. The low level of physical activity identified among these patients was related to a high level of depressive symptoms. The level of depressive symptoms declined over time; but this change was not related to an increase in physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Substance use disorders (SUDs) and addictive behaviours are growing problems which negatively impact health and wellbeing. Occupational therapy can support recovery by facilitating engagement in everyday activities that promote health. To date, the inclusion of occupational therapy in addiction recovery is limited and the evidence base for occupation-focused interventions is lacking. This study explores the impact of an occupational therapy-led intervention on self-reported occupational performance and occupational balance issues for people living with SUDs within an inpatient addiction service. Methodology: A quantitative pre and post-test study was implemented. The Canadian Personal Recovery Outcome Measure (C-PROM) was the sole outcome measure. The C-PROM is a self-report measure which aims to measure personal views of recovery based on rating activity engagement. The cohort of participants were recruited from referrals into 2 inpatient addiction recovery treatment programmes using purposive sampling. Descriptive statistics were run, and a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was used to analyse pre and post-test scoring. Results: Sixteen participants (9 male and 7 female) completed the intervention and outcome measure. The majority of participants (31.3%, n = 5) were between 45 and 54 years old. 25% of the sample (n = 4) were in the 35 to 44 age bracket while 18.8% (n = 3) were aged 55 to 64. The majority of participants (68.8%, n = 11) reported substance misuse as their main healthcare concern. The mean score on the C-PROM was significantly higher after participants received the intervention when compared with baseline scoring. Conclusion: Following engagement with an occupational therapist-led intervention participants reported increased engagement in activities and occupational performance. Participants also reported improved occupational balance and increased awareness of personal recovery needs. Further research is required to explore the effectiveness of this intervention in larger samples and to explore the transferability and sustainability of skills post discharge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]