The effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Internal Coherence, Ego Strength and Panic Disorder Symptoms

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on internal coherence, ego strength, and symptoms of panic disorder. The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test/post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the research included all people suffering from panic disorder who were referred to counseling centers and psychological services in Tehran between October and December 1402. 30 patients with panic disorder were selected by a purposive sampling method and randomly divided into two experimental (15 people) and control (15 people) groups. The research tools were an internal coherence questionnaire (Arqabai et al. 2013, ISQ), a psychological inventory of ego strength (Strom et al. 2017, PIES), and a panic disorder severity scale (Shiyer et al. 1997, PDSS). The experimental group underwent 10 90-minute sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy. Data analysis was done using multivariate covariance analysis. The findings showed that by controlling the pre-test effect, there is a significant difference between the post-test average of the two experimental and control groups in the variables of internal coherence, ego strength, and panic symptoms (P ≥ 0.01). Based on the findings of the research, it can be concluded that cognitive behavioral therapy is effective in improving internal coherence, ego strength, and panic symptoms of people with panic disorder.