Effectiveness of Intensive Short- Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on Anxiety in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

 Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common inflammatory rheumatic disease. In most communities, its prevalence is approximately 3%. Anxiety has been reported as one of the most common displeasing psychological experiences in rheumatoid arthritis patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) on reducing anxiety in rheumatoid patients.

This study was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test design along with a control group. The statistical population of the study included patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had visited rheumatology clinics in Kerman during the research. We purposefully selected 40 males and females patients with rheumatoid arthritis as a statistical sample‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌. Then the members of the sample group were randomly divided into two 20-memebr parts as experimental and control groups. For the experimental group, 15 one-and-a-half-hour sessions of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy was performed once a week and individually. Research data was analyzed using analysis of covariance and SPSS 19 software.

 After reviewing the pre-test scores between the experimental and control groups, the results of the study indicated that intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy is effective in reducing anxiety scores in rheumatoid patients (p<0.05).

 The use of psychodynamic concepts and techniques in understanding anxiety disorders, seems to be very important. Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy considerably helps to reduce anxiety as well as clinical symptoms in rheumatoid patients by affecting the discharge path of anxiety and careful control and moment-by-moment monitoring of anxiety, emotions, and defenses.