Comparing the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral group therapy and optimism training on depression, anxiety, optimism, and hope in hemodialysis patients

Determining the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral group therapy compared to optimism training on depression, anxiety, optimism, and hope in hemodialysis patients

A randomized, single-blind, three arm, parallel-group, controlled clinical trial with 25 patients in each group. Randomization process will be performed using the Block Randomization method.

This clinical trial will be conducted at the Taleghani, Imam Hossein, Loghman-e Hakim, and Shohadaye Tajrish hospitals in Tehran. The Patients will be blinded to their allocation to the intervention or control group.

Inclusion criteria: 1) A documented diagnosis of hemodialysis 2) Willingness to participate in the research Exclusion criteria: 1) Non-consumption of psychotropic medications 2) Excessive disability that would prevent participation in the classes

Patients in the intervention groups will receive training for 8 90-minute sessions (one session per week for 8 consecutive weeks). The content of training in cognitive behavioral group therapy includes training in recognizing negative automatic thoughts in difficult and unfortunate situations, reframing exercises for negative thoughts, analyzing negative thoughts and coping strategies, and a guide to self-treatment and relapse prevention. In the optimism training group, it will include insight into optimism and its monitoring, optimism and growth after injury, positive interpretation of the previous complication and the logic of addressing it, seeing the positive characteristics of each phenomenon, optimism in social relationships, optimism over time, optimistic explanations of events, and turning optimism into a habit. Patients in the control group will receive routine hospital education.

Depression; Anxiety; Optimism; Hope

At first, the participants will be selected through convenience sampling and then will be assigned to three groups of cognitive behavioral group therapy, optimism training, and control groups, 25 individuals per group). Using a randomized block design (6-individual blocks, www.randomizer.org), random sequences of letters A, B, and C will be created, which will assign the samples to one of the three desired groups. All participants will receive sealed, opaque, sequentially numbered envelopes to conceal the allocation sequence.

In this study, the patients will not be aware of their allocation into the control or intervention group.