The effect of hope enhancing training on behavioral strengths in dysthymic patients

زمینه و هدف: روان‌شناسی مثبت، مطالعه تجارب ذهنی مثبت مثل شادمانی و سلامتی، صفات فردی مثبت مثل امید و بخشش و توانمندی‌های بین‌فردی مثل نوع‌دوستی و حس جامعه‌پذیری را شامل می‌شود. هدف این پژوهش بررسی تاثیر آموزش ارتقاء امید بر میزان توانمندی‌های رفتاری افراد مبتلا به افسرده خوئی بوده است. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه تجربی 40 نفر از مراجعین به مراکز مشاوره شهر اصفهان که مبتلا به اختلال افسرده‌خوئی بودند انتخاب و به روش تصادفی در دو گروه آزمایش و کنترل قرار گرفتند. ابتدا آزمون ارزش‌های فعال در عمل (VIA- IS) به عنوان پیش‌آزمون در هر دو گروه اجرا شد. سپس بیماران گروه آزمایش، 6 جلسه آموزش ارتقاء امید دریافت نمودند. در پایان آزمون ارزش‌های فعال در عمل مجدداً به عنوان پس‌آزمون اجرا گردید. از روش تحلیل کواریانس جهت تجزیه و تحلیل داده ها استفاده شد. یافته‌ها: پس از آموزش ارتقاء امید به ترتیب در گروه کنترل و آزمایش میانگین نمرات توانمندی های رفتاری در خود نظم دهی 78/3±40/31 و 17/3±75/37، آینده نگری 17/2±10/28 و 86/3±75/37، تواضع و فروتنی 04/2±20/29 و 77/2±65/35 و بخشش 39/2±80/26 و 71/2±10/37 بود (001/0

Comparing the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Drug Therapy, and the Combination of These Two Methods in the Treatment of Major Depression

Introduction: A large number of people are afflicted with major depressive disorder, leading to high societal costs. In addition, the treatment remains one of the most challenging and controversial issues in mental health. The main purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), pharmacotherapy, and a blend of the two methods in treating major depressive disorder. Methods: A sample of 60 subjects was selected randomly from the middle-aged patients suffering from major depressive disorder (based on DSM-V criteria) with illness duration of one year that referred to all outpatient clinics of the Modares hospital in Isfahan. The patients were divided into four experimental groups including: acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), Drug Therapy, blend of the two aforementioned methods and control group. Statistical analysis was conducted using analysis of covariance. Results: Findings showed a significant difference in terms of depression among the three treatment groups. While the mean scores of depression in the posttest were 44.60 for the control group, the results for pharmacotherapy, ACT and combination group were 17.66, 26.53 and 15.13 respectively (p˂0.05). Discussion: Although, Pharmacotherapy and combined treatment are more effective than ACT alone, the combination of ACT and pharmacotherapy is the most effective with longer-lasting results in the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder in middle-aged Iranian patients. Declaration of Interest: None

The effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on happiness and gratitude of female students

Aim: The aim of the present study is to determine the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on the happiness and gratitude among female students of the University of Isfahan in the academic year 2013–2014. Methodology: The design of the present study is quasi-experimental with the control group and pretest-posttest and follow-up test. For sampling among 100 female girls who registered for this study, a number of 30 individuals who were lacking in any symptom of severe psychological disorders or character disorders in the first and second axes of diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-IV-Text review were selected. Then, this number were randomly divided into two control and experimental group each with 15 participants. The instruments used for collecting data included the positive psychotherapy questionnaire and the gratitude questionnaire-six item form. In the experimental group, positive psychotherapy sessions were held in group in 10 sessions. However, the control group received no intervention. To analyze the data of the present study, ANCOVA and SPSS-17 software were used. Results: The results indicated that the positive psychotherapy is effective on the increase of overall happiness and the components of pleasant, engaged, and meaningful life in the stages of posttest and follow-up (P < 0.05), although this effectiveness is confirmed on the component of meaningful life in the posttest. In addition, in the domain of gratitude, the members of the experimental group indicated a significant increase in their scores in the stages of posttest and follow-up as compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: From the findings obtained from this study, it can be concluded that, in general, positive psychotherapy is effective on the increase of overall happiness and its components and gratitude of female students in the University of Isfahan. Therefore, the positive psychotherapy is an appropriate alternative for increasing happiness and gratitude of students

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT, UNFORGIVENESS AND FORGIVENESS STYLES WITH THE MENTAL HEALTH

The aim of present study was to investigate the relationship among religious commitment, forgiveness styles, unforgiveness, and rumination with mental health in Esfahan University's students. Method: A sample of 200 students (only women) of Esfahan University was randomly selected to complete the following questionnaires: the Religious Commitment Inventory (RCI), the Forgiveness Scale, the Transgression Related Interpersonal Motivations Scale, the Rumination about an Interpersonal Offense Scale and Health Survey. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and stepwise regression analysis. Results: The results showed that there is a significant relationship among mental health with religious commitment, forgiveness styles, unforgiveness, and rumination. The results found a significant relationship between rumination, revenge motive, social intentions, positive emotions, and age with mental health (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that mental health has a significant relationship with rumination, age and especially internal commitment as a component of religious commitment. Therefore, providing proper basis so as to improve religious commitment, forgiveness ability and controlling ruminations, could lead to increase the students' mental health. Key words: Religious commitment, Unforgiveness, Forgiveness Styles, General Healt