The effectiveness of group positive psychotherapy on depression and happiness in breast cancer patients: A randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND
Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in women in the world. It causes fear, despair, and takes a tremendous toll on psychological status.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the effectiveness of group positive psychotherapy on the depression and happiness of breast cancer patients.


METHODS
This randomized controlled trial was conducted with 42 breast cancer patients in The Oncology Center at Kermanshah, Iran in 2015. The Data were gathered before intervention and ten weeks afterwards. The data were collected using Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and Oxford's happiness Inventory (OHI). The data were analyzed by SPSS-16, Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S), chi-squared, and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).


RESULTS
The results showed a significant reduction in the depression of the group on positive psychotherapy compared with the control group. Also the positive psychotherapy group experienced a significant increase in the patients' happiness, while there was no significant increase in the control group.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this research showed the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on the reduction of mental pressure and the improvement of the mental status of breast cancer patients. This economical therapy can be used to increase patients' psychological health.


BACKGROUND
The trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRST) with the identification number IRCT2013101410063N4.


BACKGROUND
The authors received financial support for the research from Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences.
M.Sc. of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Science, Kermanshah, Iran.
Mohammad Mehdi
MM
Dowlatabadi
Ph.D. Student of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
Seyed Mojtaba
SM
Ahmadi
M.Sc. of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Science, Kermanshah, Iran.
Mohammad Hossein
MH
Sorbi
MD. of Epidemiology, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Science, Kermanshah, Iran.
Omid
O
Beiki
Ph.D. Student of Educational Psychology, Department of Psychology, Islamic Azad University Marvdasht Branch, Shiraz, Iran.
Tayebeh Khademeh
TK
Razavi
MD. of Psychiatrist, Associate Professor, Research Center of Addiction and Behavioral Sciences, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran; MD. Psychiatrist, Associate Professor, Research Center of Diabetes, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Reza
R
Bidaki
breast cancer; depression; happiness; positive psychotherapy