The effectiveness of group positive psychotherapy on depression and happiness in breast cancer patients: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in women in the world. It causes fear, despair, and takes a tremendous toll on psychological status. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of group positive psychotherapy on the depression and happiness of breast cancer patients. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial was conducted with 42 breast cancer patients in The Oncology Center at Kermanshah, Iran in 2015. The Data were gathered before intervention and ten weeks afterwards. The data were collected using Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and Oxford’s happiness Inventory (OHI). The data were analyzed by SPSS-16, Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S), chi-squared, and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). RESULTS: The results showed a significant reduction in the depression of the group on positive psychotherapy compared with the control group. Also the positive psychotherapy group experienced a significant increase in the patients’ happiness, while there was no significant increase in the control group. CONCLUSION: The results of this research showed the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on the reduction of mental pressure and the improvement of the mental status of breast cancer patients. This economical therapy can be used to increase patients’ psychological health. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRST) with the identification number IRCT2013101410063N4. FUNDING: The authors received financial support for the research from Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences.