efficacy of psycho-educational group program on medication adherence and global functioning of patients with bipolar disorder type I

Psycho-education is now considered as part of the integrated treatment for bipolar disorder. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of group psycho-education on medication adherence and global functioning of patients with bipolar disorder type I. 45 patients with bipolar disorder type I were allocated one of the three groups of psycho-education plus pharmacotherapy, pharmacotherapy and placebo plus pharmacotherapy. A psycho-educational program was conducted for the psycho-educational group during 9 weekly sessions. Medication adherence and global functioning of all the three groups were evaluated before the intervention, three months and six months after the intervention using Medication Adherence Rating Scale [MARS] and Global Assessment of Functioning [GAF]. ANOVA was performed to examine the data. In the first and second assessments, the mean score of medication adherence and gobal functioning for patients in the psycho-educational group was significantly higher than that in the control and placebo groups [P=0.001]. Medication adherence score of the psycho-educational group was increased from 6.27[0.88] to 7.92[1.38]. while the mean score of the psycho-educational group increased from 56.6 [3.58] to 64.17 [2.12]:, the global functioning reduced from 56.27[3.17] to 54.17[5.08] in the control group and from 56.67 [3.58] to 56 [4.36] in the placebo group. Psycho-educational program plus pharmacotherapy was effective in improvement medication adherence and global functioning of bipolar patients.

comparative effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and group cognitive therapy for major depressive disorder

Acceptance and commitment therapy [ACT] is a new method of psychotherapy for major depressive disorder [MDD]. The aim of this experimental study is evaluating the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive therapy. In this randomized clinical trial, 19 depressive out-patients were randomly divided into 2 groups [acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive therapy]. Twelve therapeutic sessions administered in consulting center of Tehran University twice a week. All the subjects were tested by Beck Depression Inventory [BDI-II]] and the Ruminative Response Scale [RRS] before and after the treatments. Data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance [MANCOVA]. The results show no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the variables of depression and rumination. Overall, the results suggest that ACT is an effective treatment, the effectiveness of which appears equivalent to that of CT

Comparison of the effect of group transdiagnostic therapy and group cognitive therapy on anxiety and depressive symptoms

The cognitive behavioral interventions based on the transdiagnostic approach for emotional disorders have received useful empirical supports in recent years. Most of the researches on this area have been conducted without any control group. Moreover, little information about comparative effectiveness has reported. The current study was compared transdiagnostic group therapy with classical cognitive group therapy. Thirty three collages students with anxiety and depressive symptoms participated in eight two-hour sessions in Akhavan Hospital, Tehran, Iran during May and June 2011. The results were analyzed by The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, and Work and Social Adjustment Scale in pre and post intervention. Both groups showed the significant difference in research variables pre and post test. However, there was no significant difference in the results analysis using ACOVAs except for anxiety symptoms. The effectiveness of transdiagnostic group therapy was confirmed in reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms. Implications of the study are discussed

[Reliability, validity and factor analysis of Cohen-Mansfield agitation inventory [CMAI]]

In order to investigate the effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment methods for decreasing agitation in diseases like dementia, a proper scale like Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory [CMAI] is needed. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the CMAI. The sample consisted of 100 caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease that responded to the CMAI. The inter-rater reliability of the inventory was investigated by the assessment of other observer. After two weeks, the main observer filled the CMAI for the same patients again. The reliability of the inventory was investigated by test-retest, alpha Cronbach and split-half methods that were 0.99, 0.92 and 0.82 respectively. The validity of the questionnaire was investigated by convergent validity, inter-rater agreement across items and exploratory factor analysis. The results from factor analysis of the CMAI using varimax rotation method yielded 4 factors labeled: 1- Aggressive Behaviors, 2- Non-Aggressive Behaviors, 3- Verbal Aggression, and 4- Hiding Behaviors, which explained 72.77% of the total variance. Convergent validity was confirmed by computing a correlation coefficient between the subscales together and with total scale, which was significant between 0.43 and 0.90 [p<0.01]. Regarding the results, it could be said that this inventory can be a valid and reliable scale to evaluate the agitation in patients with Alzheimer's disease

Comparing the effectiveness of paroxetine, attention modification program and combination of both on improving social anxiety symptoms

Although the effectiveness of paroxetine and Attention Modification Program has been studied separately in treating social anxiety disorder, there has been no research comparing them according to the literature. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of paroxetine, Attention Modification Program [AMP] and combination of both on improving the Social Anxiety Symptoms. 33 patients meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria for social anxiety disorder were randomly assigned in 3 groups: 11 in paroxetine group, 11 in AMP group and 11 in combined group. Treatment intervention was done during 8 weeks period. Social Phobia Inventory [SPIN], Beck Depression Inventory [BDI-II] and Sheehan Disability Scale [SDS] were administered before and after treatment intervention. One-way Analysis of Covariance [ANCOVA] was used to determine the differences and efficacy of treatment interventions between groups. Data analysis was done by SPSS-16 software. 28 participants completed the treatment period. One-way ANCOVA results showed statistically significant differences in post-treatment scores of social phobia [p=0/007], depressive symptoms [p=0.007] and daily life functioning treatment is significantly more effective than AMP in reducing social phobia symptoms [p=0.007], depressive symptoms [p=0.022] and enhancing daily life functioning [0.019%]. Yet, there were no significant differences between Paroxetine and combined treatment in all post-treatment scores [p=0.890], p=1.000, p=1.000 for social phobia, depressive symptoms and daily life functioning respectively]. paroxetine showed more significant improvement of depressive symptoms [p=0.016] and enhancing daily life functioning [p=0.045] than AMP. Also, there were no significant differences between paroxetine and AMP in reducing social anxiety symptoms. It seems that paroxetine has wider effect in reducing social anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms and enhancing daily life functioning than AMP and adding to paroxetine does not make significant changes than medicating with paroxetine alone