Investigating the Effectiveness of Spiritual Therapy on the Cognitive Emotion Regulation of Muslim Women with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Khavasi , Razieh; Sandooghsaz , Sahar; Fazelzadeh Dezfouli , Maryam; Asayesh , Farzaneh; Mahmoodi Booket , Zahra

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Khavasi R, Sandooghsaz S, Fazelzadeh Dezfouli M, Asayesh F, Mahmoodi Booket Z. Investigating the Effectiveness of Spiritual Therapy on the Cognitive Emotion Regulation of Muslim Women with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. MEJDS 2025; 15 (0) :64-64
URL: http://jdisabilstud.org/article-1-3302-en.html

Investigating the Effectiveness of Spiritual Therapy on the Cognitive Emotion Regulation of Muslim Women with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Razieh Khavasi¹

, Sahar Sandooghsaz¹

, Maryam Fazelzadeh Dezfouli ^*¹

, Farzaneh Asayesh¹

, Zahra Mahmoodi Booket²

1- Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology, Science and Arts University, Yazd, Iran
2- Master of Islamic Positive Psychology, Isfahan University of Quran and Etrat Studies, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract: (957 Views)

Abstract
Background & Objectives: Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by intrusive thoughts, images or impulses, urges, or repetitive, time–consuming behaviors, including repetitive mental actions that result in significant functional impairment and distress. Islam is the second–largest and fastest–growing religion in the world. By 2050, Muslims will make up approximately 30% of the world's population. Considering the dominance and continuous growth of Islam, it is necessary to understand the experiences and perceptions of Muslims about the healing approaches of spirituality, especially concerning their psychosocial and spiritual care. Considering the importance of cognitive regulation of emotion in OCD, the high statistics of OCD among people in Iranian society, and the problems that this disorder causes for these people, it is inevitable to pursue treatment for these patients. Moreover, so far, no study has investigated the effectiveness of spiritual therapy on the cognitive regulation of emotion in Muslim women with obsessive–compulsive disorder, so the purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of spiritual treatment on the cognitive emotion regulation in Muslim women with OCD.
Methods: This quasi–experimental study employed a pretest–posttest design with a control group. The statistical population included Muslim women suffering from obsessive–compulsive disorder aged 30 to 45 who referred to psychiatric clinics in Yazd City, Iran. Among the community members, 30 qualified volunteers were included in the study, and 15 of them were randomly assigned to the intervention group, while 15 were assigned to the control group. The inclusion criteria for the subjects in the study were as follows: having obsessive–compulsive disorder and confirmation from a psychiatrist, being between 30 and 45 years old, being a follower of Islam, and not using other treatment methods such as medication and psychotherapy. The exclusion criteria were missing a treatment session and failure to complete the questionnaire during the study. Informed consent was obtained from all participants in this study, and assurances were given that their information would remain confidential. The variable scores of cognitive emotion regulation were compared using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ; Garnefski et al., 2001) across two time periods: before and after the group spirituality therapy. The initial patient assessment was conducted on the first day for 1.5 hours. Information such as family history and previous treatments was also recorded in the patient's file. The treatment protocol used in the present study was inspired by the spiritual therapy protocol of Alimadadi et al. (2020) and approved by three members of the Faculty of Yazd University in the field of spiritual therapy in terms of content. Individuals in the intervention group received 2–minute group spirituality therapy over 8 sessions. Data analysis was performed using analysis of covariance in SPSS software version 17. The significance level of the tests was set at 0.05.
Results: Data analysis showed that the score of the cognitive emotion regulation test in women with obsessive–compulsive disorder in the intervention group and after receiving treatment increased significantly compared to the control group, respectively (p<0.001). Based on the effect size results, 69% of the difference in cognitive emotion regulation between the intervention group and the control group was attributed to the implementation of group spirituality therapy.
Conclusion: According to the results, group spirituality therapy can be used as a complementary therapy to improve cognitive emotion regulation in patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder.

Keywords: Spiritual therapy, Cognitive emotion regulation, Obsessive–compulsive disorder

Full-Text [PDF 242 kb] (33 Downloads)

Type of Study: Original Research Article | Subject: Psychology

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