The Effectiveness of Psychodynamic Group Therapy on the Components of the Sense of Coherence Among Patients with Colon Cancer

Background: Cancer causes several social and psychological problems and responses, such as denial, anger, and feelings of guilt,which eventually lead to the patient’s psychological coherence collapse.Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of psychodynamic group therapy on the components of the Sense ofCoherence (SOC) among patients with colon cancer.Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted using a pretest-posttest design with a control group and follow-up on allpatients with colon cancer treated at the Poursina-Hakim Treatment Center in Isfahan, Iran, during the spring of ۲۰۲۲. Then, ۲۸patients were selected using convenient sampling and divided randomly into two ۱۴-member groups: The psychodynamic therapygroup (receiving ۱۲ treatment ۱۰۰-minute sessions) and the control group. The participants completed the Sense of Coherence (SOC)Scale in three pretest, posttest, and follow-up stages. The research data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and theBonferroni post hoc test in SPSS software version ۲۶.Results: The mean ± SD of the posttest score of comprehensibility in the psychodynamic therapy group was ۴۰.۵۷ ± ۷.۲۰, whichwas different from the pretest ۳۲.۴۲ ± ۵.۹۸. Moreover, the mean ± SD of the posttest score of meaningfulness in the psychodynamictherapy group was ۳۷.۵۷ ± ۷.۵۳, which was also different from the pretest ۳۱.۱۴ ± ۶.۱۶. Psychodynamic therapy effectively enhancedcomprehensibility (P = ۰.۰۰۱) and meaningfulness of life (P = ۰.۰۳۲) among patients with colon cancer. The therapeutic effectremained stable over time only in the comprehensibility component. The stability of the intervention effects on meaningfulnesswas not observed over time. Additionally, the therapeutic effect on the manageability component was not significant.Conclusions: Based on these results, psychodynamic therapy could affect the patients’ comprehension of the currentcircumstances and the meaningfulness of life and help their psychological adaptation.

کلیدواژه ها:

Psychodynamic ، Sense of Coherence ، Comprehensibility ، Meaningfulness ، Manageability ، Cancer