The Effect of Hope Therapy on Reducing Dysfunctional Attitudes of Female Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of hope therapy on reducing dysfunctional attitudes in female patients with multiple sclerosis. The research design was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest, a month follow-up, and a control group. A sample size of 30 subjects was selected through purposeful sampling method among the female patients admitted to the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) center and were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. Both groups responded to Weisman and Beck's Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale. In later stages of research, in the experimental group, the hope therapy was conducted for eight sessions of 90 minutes, while the control group received no intervention. Subjects completed the Dysfunctional Attitudes Questionnaire in the pre-test (before intervention), post-test (after intervention), and follow-up (one month later) of the last treatment session. The results of repeated measures showed that the time effect and interactive effect of time and group to reducing the dysfunctional attitudes of MS patients were significant. Also, the groups did not differ in the pre-test but differ in post-test and follow-up. The research results showed that hope therapy could be used as an efficient way to reduce dysfunctional attitudes of patients with multiple sclerosis. Moreover, the effectiveness of interventions was stable after one month.