The Effectiveness of Islamic Cognitive-behavioral Therapy Compared With Conventional Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Reducing Depression and Increasing Life Satisfaction and Spiritual Health in Patients With Depression

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Some studies have shown that spirituality and religion are related to more life satisfaction and less depression. The present study examined the effectiveness of Islamic cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) compared to conventional CBT in reducing depression and increasing life satisfaction and spiritual health in patients with depression. Methods: This is a random trial with a pre-test-post-test design. There were 30 participants in this study; 15 participants received conventional CBT and 15 received Islamic CBT. The instruments used for data collection included a semi-structured interview based on diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), Glock and Stark’s (1970) Religiosity Scale, Beck’s depression inventory, Diner’s life satisfaction questionnaire (1985), and Paloutzian’s spiritual wellbeing scale, which were filled in before and after the treatment sessions. Each protocol included ten 50-minute sessions. The collected data were finally analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Results: Islamic CBT led to a significantly higher level of spiritual health compared to conventional CBT (P<0.001). Both methods led to a significant reduction in depression and increased life satisfaction and no significant difference was found between them. Conclusion: It is suggested that Islamic CBT should be improved in terms of psychological components and techniques combined with spirituality so that its effectiveness in reducing depression and increasing life satisfaction can be improved compared to conventional CBT.

Keywords

• cognitive-behavioral therapy
• islam
• life satisfaction
• spirituality
• depression