Effect of Emotional Catharsis by Writing on Depression in female Cancer Patients

Cancer is the third-leading cause of death in Iran. Depression is a prevalent disorder in cancer patients. This study was conducted to investigate emotional catharsis by writing on depression in cancer patients.
A quasi-experimental study, before and after design with a control group was conducted on 30 cancer patients referred to the Research Cancer Center affiliated with Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The patients with cancer completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; 21-items). The patients in the intervention group were asked to writ negative feelings and emotions daily, for four successive weeks and for 20 minutesthis intervention did not do for the control group. After one month, 21-items Beck Depression Inventory was completed by the two groups. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and paired t test, t-test, analysis of covariance.
The mean scores of the experimental group and the control group, had no significant difference in pre-test (p=0.618) but on post-test scores, the experimental group was significantly lower than the control group (p=0.019). The post-test score in the experimental group was significantly lower than the pre-test scores (p=0.000). But were not statistically significant difference in depression scores in the post-test and post-test in control group (p=0.131). There was not statistically different between pre-test and post-test scores of depression by age, marital status and education level of the entire sample, the experimental group and the control group.
The emotional catharsis is effective on depression in patients with cancer. It is recommended as a cost-effective and efficient method to be used in the care of cancer patients.