Effect of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy on the Anxiety and Depression of War-Handicapped

Background: Depression and anxiety as the most common psychiatric problems in survivors of traumatic events pose a significant burden on health systems and families. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the impact of group cognitive-behavioral therapy on the anxiety and depression of war veterans. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test and a control group. The statistical population included all men with war disabilities who visited Sadra Psychiatric Hospital in Tehran. By convenience and purposive sampling, 116 people were selected and randomly assigned to two groups. Therapeutic interventions (group cognitive-behavioral therapy and Jacobsen's progressive muscle relaxation technique) were applied to each group for 12 sessions, 2 sessions per week and 2 sessions each. Beck’s Depression Scale (Beck, 1961) and Spielberger’s Anxiety Scale (Spielberger, 1970) were used to collect the data. Data was analyzed using analysis of covariance. Results: The mean scores of anxiety and depression in the post-test phase decreased compared to the pre-test phase (P < 0.05). Therefore, group cognitive-behavioral therapy improved the psychological symptoms of the participants. Conclusions: Cognitive-behavioral therapy improved cognitive flexibility and diminished anxiety-depression symptoms in war veterans; thus, it can be considered a useful treatment strategy to improve the psychological status of war veterans.