Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Spiritual Well-Being and Emotional Intelligence of the Elderly Mourners

Objective: Grief is one of the most painful experiences of the humans after linking emotions. In the literature of trauma, grief and mourning can be seen on many topics. Intervention and treatment of grief seems necessary as the period of mourning is prolonged. Thus, this study aimed at understanding the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on spiritual well-being and emotional intelligence in the elderly bereavement. Method: This was an experimental study with pre-and posttest design, and control group. The population of this study was the elderly mourners in city of Ardabil in 15-2014. After conducting clinical interviews and diagnostic tests using the sampling method, 30 elderly mourners selected. Spiritual Well-Being questionnaire and Emotional Intelligence questionnaire were used for data collection. The questionnaire and pretest-posttest were used in this study. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance. Results: The results of the data analysis revealed that cognitive behavioral therapy increased spiritual well-being and emotional intelligence of the mourners was not significantly different between the 2 groups (P<0.01). However, the means of Spiritual Well-Being and Emotional Intelligence at pretest was not significant in the intervention group compared with the control group (P>0.05). Conclusion: Method of cognitive behavioral therapy helps confront the emotional drain and grief acceptance, increasing the spiritual well-being and emotional intelligence of the elderly bereavement.‏