The Effect of Cognitive-Emotional Training on Post-traumatic Stress and Growth in Discharged Patients with COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to various psychological consequences. Its sudden emergence has caused widespread confusion, disrupted people’s daily lives, and inflicted severe psychological trauma.

This study seeks to explore the effectiveness of emotional cognitive training in reducing stress and promoting post-traumatic growth among COVID-19 patients discharged from Zahedan hospitals in 2021.

This quasi-experimental study involved 70 COVID-19 patients who were discharged from Zahedan hospitals in 2021. The participants were selected using a convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group, with each group consisting of 35 patients. The intervention group received seven online sessions of cognitive-emotional training in groups of 4 to6 people. The patients completed the Post-traumaticGrowth Inventory (PTGI)andthe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) checklist before and 12 weeks after the cognitive-emotional training. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 and statistical tests such as analysis of covariance, chi-square, and independent t-tests. The significance level was considered< 0.05.

The independent t-test and analysis of the covariance test revealed that the mean score of post-traumatic stress in the intervention group (32.34 ± 5.75) was significantly lower than that in the control group (57.88 ± 4.28) following the cognitive-emotional training (P = 0.001). Additionally, themeanpost-traumatic growth score in the intervention group (69.8 ± 11.73) was significantly higher than that in the control group (48.71 ± 5.08) after the training (P = 0.001).

The results suggest that emotional cognitive training has a positive and significant impact on reducing stress and promoting post-traumatic growth among COVID-19 patients. Therefore, incorporating this online training into the standard treatment is recommended to enhance the well-being and welfare of patients with COVID-19 after discharge.