Effect of acceptance and commitment therapy on the acceptance of pain and psychological inflexibility among women with chronic headache

Tension headaches and migraines are the most common types of headaches that severely decline the daily functioning of patients. It seems that drug therapy is not useful by itself for most of these patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of acceptance and commitment therapy on the acceptance of pain and psychological inflexibility among women with chronic headache. It was a quasi experimental study using pretest- posttest with control group. The study population included women aged 20 to 40 who were suffering from chronic headaches and referred to a pain clinic in Tehran. In the study, 30 patients were selected and randomly divided into experimental and control groups (each group 15 members). Acceptance and Commitment therapy was implemented for eight one and a hours half sessions, once a week. Data collection tool in this study consisted of the questionnaire of pain acceptance and psychological flexibility. The results of this study showed that there was a significant difference in the variables of pain acceptance and psychological inflexibility between the experimental and control groups after the intervention .The results emphasized on the importance of this intervention in psychosomatic diseases to provide new horizons to clinical interventions

The effectiveness of cognitive behavior stress management on functional dyspepsia symptoms

Introduction: Functional dyspepsia and digestive disorders are common, debilitating and costly. Little information is available about the role of stress management in terms of cognitivebehavioral treatment of dyspepsia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral stress management on functional dyspepsia symptoms in patients who referred to digestion clinics in Ahvaz. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study, using pretest, post-test and follow-up with control group. The sample size was decided according to availability. For this purpose, 30 patients were selected using Rome-III diagnostic criteria with diagnosis of functional dyspepsia. They were divided with block randomization into two experimental and control groups (Each with 15 subjects). The experimental group received 10 sessions of cognitive behavioral stress management. But, the control group did not receive any intervention. Two groups were assessed at post-test and follow-up after the intervention. Data collection in this study was based on the NDI index. All subjects completed the NDI index for evaluating dyspeptic symptoms in the pre-test phase. At the end of interventions and post-test phase, both groups completed the NDI index. Also, all subjects completed a month after the end of the the NDI index in order to follow the effects of treatment. After the follow-up, the data were analyzed using the SPSS 14 and univariate analysis of variance. The significance level was considered p<0.05. Results: The result of this study showed that there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups in terms of functional dyspepsia in the post-test (p=0.000). Also, there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups in terms of functional dyspepsia in the follow-up (p=0.000). Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that cognitive-behavioral stress management strategies are effective in reducing symptoms in patients with functional dyspepsia. So, cooperation among gastroenterologists, psychologists and psychiatrists can have positive effects on these patients

A Comparison of Mental Health and Academic Performance between Students with Epilepsy and Normal Students

The aim of this study is to compare the mental health and academic performance of epileptic and non-epileptic adolescent 12-18 years-old students of middle and high schools in Ahvaz in the academic year 2010-2011. The ex-post facto is the methodology used in this study. The sample includes 24 students with epilepsy homogenized with 24 normal students in middle and high schools in Ahvaz. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28)is administered individually in both groups. The GPA of students is considered to study the ir academic performance. The data are analyzed using MANOVA. The results show there are significant differences between the students with epilepsy and non-epileptic students in the overall mental health and all areas (except anxiety) and also in the academic performance (p<0/05). The refore students with epilepsy are poorer and in direr need in terms of general mental health, physical symptoms, social functioning, depressive symptoms and academic performance. The risk of epileptic seizures can reduce adolescent mental health and academic performance. It is recommended that students should receive mental health training. Also parents and teachers should receive training to improve the mental health and academic performance of their children