ABSTRACT
Hemodialysis as a treatment manner in chronic renal failure is a stressful process and has several various psycho-cognitive and social complications. The present study evaluated effect of cognitive-behavioral group therapy on anxiety and depression in hemodialysis patients. This research was a clinical trial study. Samples were young adults who were 18-45 years old. The Participants were divided into two groups [case and control]. The Beck depression and anxiety inventories were used as a measure of psychological symptoms at pretest and posttest and Cognitive-behavioral group therapy as intervention was done at week12. Data Were analyzed with SPSS-16 and t-test, chi square. A p<0.05 was considered significant. In this study, there was not a significant difference in the demographic characteristics between the two groups. Before of intervention, mean Anxiety score of the experimental group was 25.72 +/- 5.87, and in the case group it was 25.22 +/- 7.56 as well as mean Depression score in the two groups was 35.44 +/- 14.97, 33.11 +/- 9.2 respectively. The difference of the two groups in anxiety and depression scores was not significant. After the intervention, the mean anxiety score of experimental group was 15.94 +/- 6.23, and in the case group it was 28.05 +/- 10.04 [p<0.05]. Mean of depression score in the experimental group was 22.27 +/- 13.32, and in the case group it was 33.94 +/- 9.46 [p<0.01]. This research showed that group therapy [cognitive-behavioral] decreased depression and anxiety remarkably in dialysis patients. Therefore, it is suggested that in addition to the prescription of medication, psychological interventions be done for such patients