Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Dec 2019)
The Effect of Counseling on Stigma in Psychiatric Patients Receiving Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Clinical Trial Study
Abstract
Efat Sadeghian,1 Parisa Rostami,2 Farshid Shamsaei,3 Lily Tapak4 1Assistant Professor, Chronic Diseases (Home Care) Research Centre, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran; 2MSc of Psychiatric Nursing, Department of Nursing, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran; 3Associate Professor, Behavioral Disorders and Substance Abuse Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran; 4Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, IranCorrespondence: Farshid ShamsaeiSchool of Nursing & Midwifery, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Fahmideh Bulv., Hamadan 65178, IranTel +98-81-38381941Email [email protected]: Despite its efficacy and safety, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is underutilized, in part, due to the stigma associated with the treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of counseling on stigma in patients with psychiatric disorders receiving ECT.Patients and methods: A total of 114 patients with psychiatric disorders undergoing ECT were randomly divided into two groups. Both the groups received routine care and treatment, but the intervention group (n=57) received four counseling sessions. At the beginning and end of the study (6 weeks, post-treatment), patients completed the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale. The data were analyzed using independent and paired sample t-tests.Results: There was no significant difference in the mean stigma scores of participants in the control and intervention groups before counseling (P>0.08). However, post-intervention, there was a significant difference in the mean stigma scores between both the groups (P<0.001).Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that the counseling intervention is effective in decreasing stigma in patients undergoing ECT. Therefore, it is recommended to use this therapeutic method in such patients.Keywords: counseling, stigma, mental illness, electroconvulsive therapy
