The effectiveness of psychodrama on reducing depression among multiple sclerosis patients

Authors

1 Department of Clinical Psychology, Islamic Azad University- Qazvin branch, Qazvin, Iran

2 Family Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

AbstractIntroduction: Psychodrama, as a form of art therapy, helps people to enact and use role-plays for a specific problem, rather than just talking about it, in an effort to review the problem, gain feedback from group members, find appropriate solutions, and practice them for their life. The current paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of psychodrama therapy on the reduction of depression for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.Method: This is a quasi-experimental research study, using pre-post and follow-up testing plan with control group. Using a convenience sampling technique, a total of 20 individuals are selected among clients with multiple sclerosis referring to Iranian Multiple Sclerosis Society. The subjects are randomly placed into two control and experimental groups. The experimental group participates in a twelve-session therapy plan for 6 weeks, while the control group receives no intervention.  In order to collect data, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the demographical information questionnaire are used. Data analysis is performed by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).Results: The results show a decrease in the post test and follow-up test scores for depression, and such decrease is statistically significant.Conclusion: The findings indicate the effectiveness of the psychodrama intervention to decrease depression among patients with MS. Hence, it will be helpful to take great concern over psychological treatments for these cases.

Keywords


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