The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Group Cognitive Therapy in reduction of Depression in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Hamed Aghabagheri

Multiple Sclerosis is one of the most common chronic diseases of the central nervous system that affects the sensory and motor function. Depression is also one of the most common mental illness among patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based group cognitive therapy in the reduction of depression in patients with multiple sclerosis. Given this، In a study with a semi-experimental design along with control group، 28 female individuals، who were members of Multiple Sclerosis Society of Yazad Province، were selected through available sampling method. The subjects were assigned into experimental and control groups having been assessed in terms of the rate of depression. Then the experimental group attended 8 sessions of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). The results of the analysis of covariance showed that the mean of depression scores of the experimental group decreased significantly in comparison with the control group. In other words، these results indicate that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is effective in reducing the depression of MS patients.