Effects of Schema Therapy on the Happiness and Mental Health of Patients with Type II Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a common disease، which leads to several complications. Recently، promotion of mental health and happiness in type 2 diabetic patients has captured the attention of many therapists. Schema therapy is a popular method used for the promotion of mental health and happiness in different patients. This study aimed to investigate the effects of schema therapy on the enhancement of happiness and mental health in patients with type 2 diabetes referring to the health care center of Varamin city، Iran. This quasi-experimental study was performed with a pretest-posttest design. Study population consisted of all the patients with type 2 diabetes referring to the health care center of Varamin city، Iran in 2014. In total، 40 patients were selected using simple random sampling and divided into two groups of experimental and control (20 subjects in each). Subjects of the experimental group received 10 sessions of schema therapy education (each session 70 minutes)، while the control subjects remained in the waiting list. Both study groups completed the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) and Mental Health Questionnaire (MHQ) as the pretest and post-test، respectively. Data analysis was performed using SPSS V. 19 and multivariate analysis of covariance (MONCOVA). In this study، a significant difference was observed between the two study groups، and schema therapy was found to increase the level of happiness and mental health significantly (P<0. 05). According to the results of this study، schema therapy could be effective in the promotion of happiness and mental health among patients with type 2 diabetes. Therefore، it is recommended that therapists consider this method in the treatment procedure of diabetic patients.