Mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavioral therapy: Is it effective on stress coping strategies in women with multiple sclerosis?

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) suffer more from psychiatric consequences than others, and their quality of life may be drastically affected, causing syndromes like depression and anxiety. Mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavioral therapy (Mi-CBT) seems to improve stress coping strategies in chronically ill patients, but its effectiveness has been little studied in MS. So, in this study, we aimed to assess its effectiveness on stress coping strategies in women suffering from MS in Mazandaran province, Iran. METHODS: In this semi-experimental study, we selected 40 women with MS who had been referred to a neurologist in Mazandaran province, Iran during the year 2016 by convenient sampling and randomly assigned to the Mi-CBT and control group with a one-to-one ratio. Patients in the intervention group were under treatment for eight 120-minutes session, while the control group only stayed on the waiting list. After obtaining the ethics committee’s approval (IR.IAU.CHALUS.REC.1397.018) and patient’s informed consent, both groups underwent a pre-test assessment with a stress status questionnaire developed by Endler and Parker in 1988. The same assessment was done for both groups two times more, one after compilation of all sessions, and one 45 days later. Repeated measures analysis of variance was done using SPSS Version 24 software. RESULTS: There was a difference between intervention and the control group for avoidance-oriented, and problem-oriented stress coping strategies (p<0.01), but there was not a significant difference for emotion-oriented strategy between groups (P=0.22). CONCLUSION: MiCBT is effective in improving stress coping strategies in women with MS, and overall mental health.