Effect of cognitive-behavioral group therapy on gestational depression: A clinical trial

Abstract

Introduction: Females are sensitive and vulnerable during pregnancy in terms of mental health. Psychotherapy may be an effective intervention to improve the mental status of the mothers. Regarding this, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of cognitive-behavioral group therapy on depression during pregnancy. Method: This clinical trial was conducted on 60 pregnant women with the gestational age of 12-12 weeks, who referred to the health centers of Qazvin, Iran, within 2016-2017. All selected mothers had mild to moderate depression based on the Beck’s Depression Inventory. The participants were randomly divided into two groups of intervention (n=30) and control (n=30). The intervention group was subjected to cognitive-behavioral group therapy for six weeks, while the control group received no training. The Beck’s Depression Inventory was administered to all participants both immediately after the intervention and two months later as a post-test. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 23) using ANOVA and Chi-square test. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: According to the results of the Mann-Whitney U test, there was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups at the post-test (P=0.001) and follow-up (P≤0.001). In addition, the results of ANOVA revealed a significant difference in the intervention group in terms of the reduction of depression symptoms (P≤0.001) at the post-test and follow-up stages. However, no significant changes were observed in the control group in this regard. Conclusion: Cognitive-behavioral group therapy was effective in the improvement of depression in pregnant women.

Keywords

• cognitive behavioral therapy
• cognitive therapy
• group therapy
• group psychotherapy
• counseling
• depression
• pregnancy