The Efficacy of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy in Reducing the Level of Depression and Anxiety in Patients with Mood Disorder

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral group therapy in reducing the level of depression and anxiety in patients with mood disorder. 14 patients diagnosed with mood disorder were selected randomly from the psychiatric ward of Noor Hospital in Isfahan as the subjects of the research.They were assigned into a control and an experimental group. Prior to the treatment intervention, subjects were assessed by Beck’s Dep-ression Inventory and Zung’s Anxiety Index. Both the control and experimental groups remained on medication throughout the study, but only the subjects in the experimental group were exposed to 10 sessions of cognitive-behavioral group therapy. The subjects in the control group received no intervene- tions. Upon completion of the intervention, both groups were assessed once again by the aforemen-tioned tests. Data were analyzed and interpreted by dependent and independent t-tests. Cognitive-behavioral group therapy significantly reduced depression in patients diagnosed with mood disorder, but this method did not have a substantial impact on reducing the patients’ anxiety. Cognitive-behavioral group therapy may be effective in reducing depression in patients diag- nosed with mood disorder.