The Effect of Cognitive-Religious Group Therapy on Psychological Profile of Physically Disabled Females: A Follow Up Study

This study investigated the effect of cognitive-religious group therapy on total rate of psychological symptoms as well as somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, and psychotism of physically disabled females. Therefore 26 females from Isfahanian Society of Disabled were selected randomly and assigned to two experimental and control groups randomly. Symptoms Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90- R) was administrated to both experimental and control groups as pre-test. Then eight weekly 90 minutes sessions of cognitive- religious group therapy were administrated to the experimental group. The content of sessions was based on the cognitive-religious model and was the necessity of finding a purpose and a justification for life’s sufferings, promotion of the relationship with self and with God, establishing a positive attitude towards the world and towards future, and improvement of family and social relationships. At the end of the group therapy sessions, SCL-90-R was administrated again as the post-test. Eight weeks after the end of the group therapy sessions, SCL-90-R was administrated as the follow up. Results of analysis of covariance showed that cognitive-religious group therapy in post-test significantly reduced the rate of obsessive-compulsive (p=0.038) and interpersonal sensitivity (P=0.038) in the experimental group as compared to the control group, but reduction of Global Severity Index, somatization, depression, anxiety, and psychotism was not significant. The results of the follow-up showed that cognitive-religious group therapy significantly reduced the rate of the Global Severity Index (p=0.01), somatization (p=0.004), obsessive compulsive (p=0.003), interpersonal sensitivity (p=0.022), anxiety (p=0.009), and psychotism (p=0.01), but not the severity of depression in experimental group as compared to the control group.