Studying the dreaming content in the patients with methadone maintenance therapy who were admitted to the drug rehabilitation centers in the city of Kerman in 2014

Introduction Drug addiction and relapse are a social destructive phenomenon. The identification of factors associated with relapse can help predict the relapse in the addicts. One of the important factors for the people's psychological dynamics analysis is the study of dreams. Methods and materials This scientific-comparative study is cross-sectional. Among the addicts with methadone maintenance therapy and their relatives who have referred to the private addiction treatment centers and Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kerman, in 2014, a random sample of 110 patients (55 patients treated with Methadone and 55 in control group) was selected and they answered to the Hall/Van de Castle test and questionnaire of demographic characteristics. Data analysis was performed by SPSS18 software. Findings The patients with methadone maintenance therapy reported more non-verbal activities related to drug abuse and its related activities than the control group in their dreams ( P =0/001). Patients with methadone maintenance therapy saw more unknown places in their dreams ( P =0/001). The patients without the relapse history saw the content of greater success in their dreams ( P =0/02). The group with a history of relapse reported more non-verbal activity content including the drug abuse and its related activities in their dreams ( P =0/003) and reported more drug-related recreational facilities such as Vafoor (a pipe for opium smoking) in their dreams ( P =0/03). Conclusion Our study showed that the frequency of non-verbal activities that is associated with the drug abuse and related issues reports a warning to relapse the drug abuse.