The effectiveness of metacognitive therapy on psychological distress and cognitive-attention syndrome in spouses of brain tumors patients

Abstract Humans are faced with various physical disorders throughout their life, some of which lead to psychological problems for them and others around them. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy on psychological distress and cognitive-attention syndrome in the spouses of patients suffering from brain tumors. The present study was semi-experimental with a randomized controlled trial design. The study population consisted of the wives of patients with brain tumors living in Tabriz in 2020. The study sample of 30 individuals was randomly divided to experimental  and control groups. The spouses of the experimental group received 8 sessions of 45 to 60 minutes of metacognitive therapy. Data were collected using the Cognitive-Attention Syndrome  Scale (CAS-1) and Kessler Psychological Distress before and one week after the intervention, and analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance. The results showed significant differences (p <0.01) between the experimental and control groups after the intervention for cognitive-attention syndrome with 0/97 effect size and psychological distress with 0/82 effect size. Given the positive impacts of metacognitive therapy on cognitive-attention syndrome and psychological distress in the spouses of these patients, applying metacognitive interventions can provide a basis to enhance the psychological health of these individuals.