Effectiveness of group Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in reducing depressive symptoms in women with Multiple Sclerosis

Subject: Depression as the most prevalent psychiatric disorder among MS patients, affects their quality and quantity of life negatively. So, treatment of depression for people with MS is very important. Among different treatment approaches in reducing depression among MS patients, dialectical behavioral therapy has not been studied sufficiently. Aim: The present study evaluated the efficacy of dialectical behavior therapy in reducing depression among women with MS. Methods: This is a semi experimental study by pre-test – post-test with two groups; one case group and one control group. In sampling, of 80 women that have inclusion criteria selected for this research and 20 women with MS were randomly selected and randomly replaced to two above mentioned groups. Experimental group received twelve dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) sessions intervention while control group did not receive any thing. For data collection Beck Depression Inventory was used. Descriptive statistics, covariance and independent t-test were used to analyze the data in SPSS-20.Results: Depression was significantly decreased in case group after the dialectical behavior therapy. Conclusion: Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)not only is a non-pharmacological, non-harmful and economical way to improve depression comorbid with MS, but also enhance patients’ quality and quantity of life, which is the main target of any treatment policy. So, using DBT in comprehensive treatment of patients with MS is recommended.

کلیدواژه ها:

Multiple Sclerosis ، Depression ، Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) ، women