The Effect of Cognitive–Behavioral Group Therapy on Menopausal Symptoms

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The common symptoms of menopause are associated with anxiety and discomfort for most women, and this is one of the major healthcare challenges. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of cognitive – behavioral group therapy on menopausal symptoms (primary outcome). METHODS: This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted among 90 menopausal women with health records at two health centers in Tuyserkan in 2016 and were randomly assigned to two groups of intervention and control (45 patients in each group). To perform cognitive – behavioral group therapy, six 90-minute sessions were held for the intervention group for six consecutive weeks. Menopausal symptoms were discussed in each of these sessions based on cognitive techniques such as identifying negative automatic thoughts and behavioral techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing technique. Menopausal symptoms were assessed in both groups using the Greene Climacteric Scale (0 – 63) before the intervention and at the end of the sixth week. To adhere to ethics, the control group received one session of educational counseling after the assessments were done. FINDINGS: There was no statistically significant difference in mean total Greene score between the cognitive– behavioral group (22.78±12.22) and control group (24.8±10.25) before intervention. After the intervention, the mean total Greene score decreased significantly in the cognitive – behavioral group (15.75±7.24) compared to the control group (24.97±9.25) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results showed that cognitive – behavioral group therapy can decrease menopausal symptoms.

Keywords

• group therapy
• cognitive–behavioral therapy
• menopausal symptoms