JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Year:2012 | Volume:4 | Issue:1 (13)|Papers Count:11

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Lazarus multimodal therapy on enhancing health indices in individuals with multiple sclerosis.Method: The statistical society was all the patients with MS in Qazvin. A number of the patients conveniently were selected. Then using of GHQ questionnaire and clinical interview based on DSM4, 40 males and females were selected and finally assigned in two groups randomly (20 in experimental group and 20 in control group). From 20 patients of experimental group, 16 patients completed the treatment. Lazarus multimodal therapy was administered to the experimental group in twelve 90 minutes sessions during 3 months period. All subjects completed GHQ questionnaire before and after intervention and in follow-up period after 1 month.Results: The results of MANCOVA test showed that Lazarus multimodal therapy have significant effect on general health. The results of ANCOVA test also showed that Lazarus multimodal therapy significantly have decreased depression, anxiety, and social dysfunction but haven't had significant effect on physical symptoms. These results remained in follow-up period.Conclusion: Lazarus multimodal therapy can enhance health indices in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system that causes major psychological challenging in the patients all over the world. In this case, psychological interventions can be useful. This study was aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of group therapy based on confrontation with feelings in group interaction on the depression, fatigue and anxiety in multiple sclerosis patients.Method: This was an experimental study with pretests, posttest and follow-up. Twenty four female patients were selected through accessible sampling method from MS Society of Kerman and randomly assigned to two groups (experimental and control). They were all administered Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) before and after the intervention and again after the follow-up period. Intervention was sixteen sessions group therapy based on confrontation with feelings in group interaction. Data was analyzed using ANCOVA / Repeated Measure Design.Results: The findings of this study indicated that the two groups were significantly different regarding depression and anxiety (p<0.05), both immediately after the treatment and the follow-up evaluation. However no significant difference was found between the two groups regarding fatigue.Conclusion: The results demonstrated the effectiveness of group therapy on the improvement of depression and anxiety in female MS patients.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) group on increase of subjective well-being and hope of Patients who were suffering from multiple sclerosis.Method: This study was semi-experimental along with experimental and control groups. First, sampling method as a public meeting was held between women and girls who were the members of the multiple sclerosis association of Yazd. Next, volunteers were randomly divided in two experimental and control groups. The subjective well-being and hope questionnaires were completed by patients in pre-test stage. Then, MBCT sessions were held for participants in the experiment group during 8 sessions in multiple sclerosis association of Yazd.In the eighth session, was asked patients to complete mentioned questionnaires again. For analyzing, data was used descriptive statistics and single-variable analysis of covariance.Results: Finding showed that the average of subjective well-being scores and hope of experimental group in comparison with control group increased significantly.Conclusion: These results show that MBCT is efficacious on increase of subjective well-being and hope of multiple sclerosis patients.

Introduction: Social phobia is an anxiety disorder which can be described as a strong and persisting fear of situations where humiliation or embarrassment may occur. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of meta-cognitive therapy (MCT) on symptoms of positive meta-cognitive beliefs about worry and low cognitive trust in patients with social phobia disorder (SPD).Method: This semi-experimental study was conducted with pretest-posttest and follow-up design, using control group. From all social phobia disorder (SPD) patients visited in psychology clinics in Shiraz city, south western part of Iran in 2010, 19 patients were selected through the objective sampling method and randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. The social phobia symptoms assessment questionnaire (SPSAQ) and meta-cognitive questionnaire (MCQ) were used as the pre-test measures. The experimental group received 8 weeks of Wells' meta-cognitive therapy sessions. The control group was in the waiting list until end of the follow up. The same measures were used for post-test and follow-up (after 3 months).Results: Since obtaining a higher score in positive meta-cognitive beliefs about worry and low cognitive trust represents severity of the symptoms in patients with social phobia, it can be seen that the mean of posttest and follow up scores in the experimental group is significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05). The results of analysis of multivariate covariance showed that MCT had a significant effect in reducing the symptoms of positive meta-cognitive beliefs about worry and low cognitive trust in patients with social phobia disorder (p<0.001).Conclusion: This intervention is believed to reduce symptoms of positive meta-cognitive beliefs about worry and low cognitive trust in patients with SPD patients by facilitating transmission from the object mode to the meta-cognitive mode and enhancing the efficient and flexible coping skills.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigating the predictability of substance use in adolescents based on individual, family, scholastic, peers, and neighborhoods risk and protective factors.Method: "Adolescents Substance Use Prevention Scale" was administered upon 698 high schools 14-19 aged students, including 366 boys and 332 girls, who were selected based on the multistage cluster sampling. The collected data was analyzed by binary logistic regression and ANOVA.Results: Finding showed that individual factors, including impulsive control, acting out of aggressive behavior, inter-intra personal emotional intelligence have significant prediction on students substance use, but school achievement and religious attitude of students did not. The risk of substance use in students who were smoker, was higher than non users. Among family factors, secure attachment to father and mother have significant prediction on students substance use, and the risk of substance use among students, who their family members were substance user was higher than others. Among school and peers factors, friend's school achievement, friend's attitude to school, and substance use have significant prediction on student`s substance use, and the risk of substance use in students, who their friends were drug user or smoker was higher than others. The risk of substance use in student's who had observed drug use behaviors in neighborhoods, was higher than others. There was a significant difference between male and female based on risk and protective of substance use prevention factors.Conclusion: Regarding to the results, substance use in students is multifactor phenomena, and to have effective preventive intervention, it need to integrate individual, family, school, peers, and neighborhoods factors, simultaneously. Due to the gender difference in substance use risk factors, it should be concern in conducting prevention programs.

Introduction: The test anxiety is a situational anxiety that it can decrease ability of evaluation or test. This study was conducted to determine comparison between systematic desensitization, study skills and combination method both of them in reducing test anxiety in male students with test anxiety.Method: The design of present study is pretest-posttest Pseudo Experiment with control group and random assignment. The statistical population of this study was included all of male students of Islamic Azad university, Yasuj Branch, during 2010-2011. Since the size of male students was 6000, the sample size appointed to 361 students based on Kerjce and Morgan's table. The samples were selected through stratified random sampling method and 64 of them with test anxiety were selected according to the Speilberger's test anxiety questionnaire and classified in three experimental groups and one control group. Data were analyzed by ANCOVA covariance analysis.Results: The mean age of participants was 23.58 years with age range between 19 to 32. The results showed that there was significant difference between experimental and control group in reducing test anxiety in systematic desensitization (p=0.0001), study skills (p=0.0001) and combination method (0.0001). Also, the results indicated that the combination method was more effective in decreasing test anxiety.Conclusion: According to the results of this study it can be concluded that although systematic desensitization and study skills were decreased test anxiety but the combination method is more effective in decreasing test anxiety as a treatment method.

Introduction: As the aggression has destructive consequences for aggressive child and his relatives, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) on aggression reduction in preschoolers.Method: In a semi-experimental design with pretest-posttest and control group, 45 aggressive children (25 boys and 20 girls) were selected with available sampling and their parents were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Preschool teachers completed Aggression Scale for Preschoolers (ASFP) for the sake of assessment of children's aggression. Treatment group received Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) during 10 sessions while control group received no therapy. All the groups were retested after completion of treatment sessions (post-test) and in 1 month later (follow up). The data was analyzed using Multiple Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA).Results: Findings showed that Child Parent Relationship Therapy resulted in statistically significant reduction of verbal and physical aggression in treatment group, compare with control group (P<0.001). Also, results showed significant reduction of relational aggression in treatment group in comparison with control group.Conclusion: CPRT, through teaching parenting skills, is effective in reducing physical and verbal aggression of preschoolers. However, CPRT doesn't sufficient for decreasing relational aggression in 10 session period. This issue notices planning and implementation of comprehensive and tailored interventions for aggressive children.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of drama therapy on attention span of boy students with intellectual disability in primary school.Method: In present quasi-experimental study, pretest and posttest design with control group was used. 30 boy students selected randomly from two exceptional primary schools and assigned to experimental and control groups equally.Attention span of all the students was measured by Tolous-Pieron and Cognitive-Diagnostic Kay Tests. Experimental group attended in 12 drama therapy sessions (per session lasted for 45 minutes) for 6 weeks, and control group didn't receive any intervention. Subjects completed Toulous-Pieron test and Cognitive-Diagnostic Kay test after the end of therapeutic sessions, again. Data were analyzed by analysis of covariance.Results: The results showed that there was significant difference between attention span of experimental and control group according to Kay Test (p=0.002) and Toulous-Pieron Test (p=0.049).Conclusion: In sum, it was concluded that drama therapy has caused the improvement of attention span in students with intellectual disability.