The Effect of Cognitive-Behavior Group Therapy on Depression and Dogmatization of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.)

Depression is one of the most common symptoms in Multiple Sclerosis (M.S). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Cognitive-Behavior Group Therapy on depression of patients with Multip le Sclerosis (M.S.) and also to examine its effect on somatic symptoms. The subjects consisted of 28 patients with M.S., who were randomly selected from the Isfahan M.S. Society, and were randomly assigned to experimental (n=14) and control (n=14) group s. The qu estionn aire s were SC L-90-R and a D e mo gr a p h ic Q u e st i o n n a ir e. T h e exp erimental group received 6 weekly sessions of Cognitive- Behaviorl Group Therapy (CBT). Wihle the control group received no intervention. The results of the covariance analysis showed that after 6 sessions of CBT, the severity of depression was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group (Ps> 0.01), howevere, the difference of the two groups was not significant on somatization. It was concluded that, as a useful method of intervention, CBT may be applied for the patients with M.S. and other neurological diseases.