EFFECTIVENESS OF GROUP-COUNSELING IN THE PRESENCE OF SPOUSE AND CLIENT-ORIENTED, USING COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL APPROACH DURING PREGNANCY ON PROMOTING POSTPARTUM MENTAL HEALTH: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

Pregnancy is a critical period with physical and psychological changes. Educating women by emphasizing that they and their husbands know enough about the changes during pregnancy will increase their psychological support. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of group-counseling in the presence of spouse and client-oriented, using Cognitive - behavioral approach during pregnancy on promoting postpartum mental health.

The present study is a clinical trial that was performed on 60 pregnant women (40 in the intervention groups, 20 in the control group) who were randomly assigned to the group counseling in the presence of spouses, client-oriented group therapy and the control group( each group: n=20) according to the inclusion criteria. Cognitive–behavioral group counseling was performed by the midwife and under the supervision of a psychologist. The counseling was performed for the intervention group in eight sessions, each session lasting 90 min, once a week and during the third trimester. The control group received routine care and a counseling session. Data collection tools were demographic information questionnaire and Depression–Anxiety–Stress Scale 21 which were completed before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and on the 14th day after delivery in both groups. Data analysis was performed using statistical tests, independent t-test, paired T-test, and ANOVA.

The results of this study showed that the mean scores of stress, anxiety, and depression in the three groups in the post intervention stage in the intervention group were significantly reduced compared to the control group(p<0.001). However, in terms of the difference in the effect of the intervention, no statistically significant difference was observed between the two methods of counseling (p> 0.05).

According to the research findings, cognitive–behavioral group counseling can be effective as an approach in improving the symptoms of stress, anxiety, and postpartum depression. Early identification of women with risk factors, designing educational interventions and early counseling can be effective in increasing the mental health of mothers in the postpartum period.