Journal of Behavior in Clinical Psychology
Year:2017 | Volume:11 | Issue:42|Papers Count:11

Cardiovascular diseases are the mainly causes of disability and death in countries around the world and despite the advances of different treatment methods, are still at high prevalent rate. Although the most important psychological factors in the development and progression of heart disease are disputed, numerous studies have shown that psychological factors are significantly involved in the development of cardiovascular diseases. This study assesses the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the quality of life among the patients with cardiovascular diseases. In order to do so, a total of 103 patients with cardiovascular disease in Kashan city were screened, from whom 60 were randomly selected and assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received8 sessions of mindfulness-based stress reduction training while the control group did not receive any intervention. Subjects in both groups were evaluated for health related quality of life and the results revealed significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of quality of life. It seems that mindfulness-based stress reduction is effective on quality of life among cardiovascular patients.

There is ample evidence confirming the relationship between psychological, social and spiritual issues and human’s biological systems, including the immune system. Breast cancer patients usually face significant distress related to probability of recurrence, death, body image, and psychological problems. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of group spiritual therapy on serum levels of Cytokine interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor alpha among women with breast cancer. Therefor, in a semi-experimental study, 16 patients with breast cancer referred to Shohada Tajrish Hospital in Tehran were purposefully selected and randomly divided into experimental and control group. The experimental group received 12 sessions of spiritual therapy. The serum levels of Cytokine interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor alpha of subjects in both groups were measured before, after, and three month after the last session. Multivariate analysis of variance of serum levels of Cytokine interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor alpha revealed that spiritual therapy is effective in reducing serum levels of Cytokine interferongamma and tumor necrosis factor alpha in women with breast cancer and has relative endurance over time.

Coronary heart disease and deaths resulting from it are rising and is the most important factor for mortality and disability in Iran. The role of positive psychological factors as mediators in the disease course and recovery process is debatable. The aim of this study is to evaluate particular positive psychopathological factors in relation to certain indicators of recovery after heart surgery. Therefore, in a correlational descriptive study, 43 patients, referred for heart surgery to Jamaran Heart Center in Tehran, were selected through availability sampling method and assessed for forgiveness, dysfunctional attitudes, depression, anxiety, stress, and cardiac recovery index prior to, after, and three month following heart surgery. Regression analysis revealed correlation between dysfunctional attitude and increase in depression, increase in forgiveness and decrease in depression, anxiety, and stress. Furthermore, from the three subscales of forgiveness, resentment control with all three variables of depression, anxiety, and stress; and the variable of realistic understanding only with anxiety showed a significant inverse relationship. Additionally, forgiveness and dysfunctional attitudes can predict after surgery fever, pain, and shortness of breath through mediation of depression, anxiety, and stress scores. It seems that psychological factors are effective on recovery process of heart diseases from which forgiveness is the influencing factor on psychological health and in this way, psychological health, based on indicators of stress, anxiety, and depression, affect recovery process of patients with hearth diseases.

Quality of life is a set of emotional and cognitive reactions against physical, psychological, and social situations; and is considered as the final outcome of clinical trials, interventions and health care services, and is an important factor in reducing symptoms of chronic mental and physical illnesses. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of mindfulness therapy in quality of life among patients with MS. Therefore, in a quasi-experimental research with pre-test, post-test, and control group, 30 patients with MS were selected through convenience sampling method and assigned randomly into experimental or control groups (n=15). The subjects were evaluated for quality of life prior to and after the intervention, and at two month follow up. The experimental group received eight sessions of 90 minutes group mindfulness therapy once a week. The results of analysis of covariance indicated that the mindfulness therapy resulted in increase in quality of life and this increase was sustained at follow up point. Given the importance of quality of life among patients with MS, it is possible to improve the factor among these patients with mindfulness training.

Effective usage of coping responses assist individuals in overcoming the issues related to physical, psychological, interpersonal, social, and personal conflicts. Also, psychological integrity is a general alignment that conveys the extent to which the individual is feeling confident, stable, and dynamic in order to see internal and external stimuli in a predictable, transparent, and structured way. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction on psychological integrity and coping responses among the patients with asthma. For this purpose, in a quasi experimental study with pre-test, post-test, and control group design, 30 patients with asthma were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned into experimental and control groups (n = 15). The experimental group received eight sessions of mindfulness-based stress reduction treatment (MBSR); whereas, the control group received no intervention. Subjects in both groups were assessed before and after the intervention in order to evaluate their sense of psychological integrity and coping responses. The MANOVA results revealed that MBSR lead to increased sense of psychological integrity, a significant reduction in emotion focused coping responses, and meaningful increase in problem-focused coping responses. This study showed that MBSR, as a modern intervention, is an effective approach to advance patients’ sense of psychological integrity and problem-focused coping responses.

It is traditional that birth weight could be considered as the only mean of assessing pregnancy outcome; and is a reliable indicator of fetal health and maturity, and also, the easiest measurement that is properly accurate and can be used in different conditions around the world. Studies show that infants with appropriate birth weight have relatively low mortality rates even in adverse environmental conditions. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of programs consisted of psychological interventions on birth weight in the city of Ghoochan. Therefore, in a semi-experimental research with pre-test, post-test, and control group design, 25 parents who referred to the city’s health centres for prenatal physical examinations and volunteered to receive psychological intervention were selected through convenience sampling method and assigned to experimental group and were matched with 25 parents, as control group, who referred to the same health centres but were not willing to volunteer to receive psychological interventions. The experimental group received 15 sessions of psychological education and interventions. The newborns of subjects in both groups were measured after birth for height, weight, head circumference, and Apgar score. The comparison of these measurements revealed that psycho-educational interventions are meaningfully effective on improvement of these quantities. Thus, it can be concluded that psycho-educational interventions can have a significant impact on birth weight among infants.

Migraine is one the health problems that, in addition to debilitating pain, has adverse effects on all aspects of life including social functioning, family relations, work, and education. This study examined the cognitive and personality features as predictive factors of migraine among female patients referred to the Brain and Neurology Centers. For this purpose, according to neurologist diagnosis, 195 individuals were selected as patient group and to form the control group, 205 women of patients’ companions, who were comparable to the subjects in the patient group in terms of age, education level, and employment were selected through simple random sampling method. The subjects were evaluated for pain catastrophizing, coping strategies, perfectionism and Personality. The results of analysis were used with simultaneous stepwise method. Simultaneously and stepwise analytical results confirmed the hypothesis of the study. In other words, with consideration of cognitive and personality factors, prediction of migraine headaches is possible among female patients.

Although the term psychosomatic is used in a wide range of contexts – from media to clinics – no exact definition of the term exists that even practitioners and experts of different schools in this domain agreed on. This may be due to its intertidisciplinary, multisystemic, and evolutionary nature.Psychosomatic medicine is an approach to health which deals with the beliefs, narratives, relations, and behaviors formed around a disorder as well as the effects of them on the disorder, structure, and function of the body. This approach seeks for leading the material-energetic-symbolic-reflective flow of signs in order to activate the salutogenesis vs. pathogenesis, and promote adaptive coping of the organisms with the disease.As such it can be regarded not exclusively as a specialty but as an approach which integrates different specialties of the medicine, connect the two lifeworlds of patient and client with the medical system, and bring about mind-body coordination through the use of different modalities.

During the ancient Greek civilization, a holistic view was common in the practice of medicine that likely considered the mind equivalent to the psych, and generally, believed that the body and psych cannot be separable. During the ancient Roman civilization (100 BC to 400 AD), Galenic medicine, despite progress in Islamic countries, including Iran, knelt in front of the church and was trapped in the dualism of the Catholic Church. …

During the ancient Greek civilization, a holistic view was common in the practice of medicine that likely considered the mind equivalent to the psych, and generally, believed that the body and psych cannot be separable. During the ancient Roman civilization (100 BC to 400 AD), Galenic medicine, despite progress in Islamic countries, including Iran, knelt in front of the church and was trapped in the dualism of the Catholic Church. …