Effect of psychotherapy on the patients with post - stroke depression

Objective To study the effect of psychotherapy on the patients with post - stroke depression. Methods 86 patients with post - stroke depression were randomly divided into psychotherapy and non psychotherapy groups. The scores of SDS, SF - 36 and clinical outcome were evaluated between the two groups. Results The score of SDS of psychotherapy group was significantly lower than that of control group, and the evaluation of clinical outcome was significantly better than that of control group ( P < 0. 05) . While the scores of SF - 36 of psychotherapy group were significantly better than those of control group except physiological function ( P < 0.01) . Conclusions Psychotherapy could obviously decrease the degree of depression and improve clinical outcome, physical function and quality of life in patients with post - stroke depression. Key words: Psychotherapy; Stroke; Depression; Quality of life