Effects of expressive writing on drug craving and symptoms of anxiety and depression in Chinese community-based drug use disorder rehabilitation: A randomized controlled trial

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of expressive writing on drug craving and symptoms of anxiety and depression among Chinese patients experiencing community-based drug use disorder rehabilitation. It was a multicenter, single-blind, randomized controlled trial. A total of 153 participants were recruited and provided with a 4-week intervention. They were randomly assigned to two groups: apart from routine community rehabilitation, one received expressive writing intervention (trial group) and the other received traditional psychological counseling (control group). Data were collected at baseline and after the intervention, while statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 23.0 software. After the 4-week intervention, endpoint scores of anxiety, depression, and drug craving were significantly lower in the trial group than in the control group (<i>p</i> < 0.05). In addition, reductions in anxiety, depression, and drug craving scores were greater in the trial group compared to the control group during the intervention (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Therefore, expressive writing was a safe, noninvasive, effective, and replicable therapeutic approach that worked well in alleviating the psychosocial dilemmas and mental stress of people who misuse drugs in the process of community-based detoxification, relapse prevention, and resocialization.