Effect of Sound Heart Model- based spiritual counseling on stress, anxiety and depression of parents of children with cancer

Pediatric cancer as a traumatic event needs pastoral counseling for family compatibility. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of spiritual counseling using Sound Heart Model on stress, anxiety, and depression of parents of children with cancer.

In this randomized, controlled, pre- and post-clinical trial, which was done in 2019, 72 parents of children with cancer from the armed forces family referred to the Baqiyatallah hospital and Children's Medical Center of Tehran were assigned into control and intervention groups by using block randomization method. Spiritual counseling was provided to the intervention group through virtual method by donating educational software included sixteen spiritual counseling sessions with emphasis on improving the relationships with God, self, people, and nature. Along with, training sessions were held once a week on the social network.For data collection, demographic questionnaire and Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS 21) were completed before and immediately after the intervention by the participants. The T-pair test was used to compare each group before and after the intervention, the independent T-test was used to compare the two groups at each stage.

The results showed no significant difference in the mean scores of depression (p = 0.68), stress (p = 0.94), and anxiety (p = 0.66) between two groups before the intervention. However, there was a statistically significant difference in the mean scores of depression (P<0.001), stress (p = 0.003), and anxiety (p <0.001) between two groups after the intervention.

Sound Heart Model- based spiritual counseling reduced the severity of depression and stress in parents and prevented the increase of anxiety in them.