Comparison of the Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, Neurofeedback, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming on Reducing the Rate of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress

Abstract

Background: Depression, anxiety, and stress are the most common mental disorders almost experienced by human beings. Nowadays, due to the coronavirus outbreak, people are becoming more vulnerable to these disorders. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the comparison of the effect of 3 treatment methods, named neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and neurofeedback (NFB), on patients suffering from disorders mentioned above. Methods: The research design selected for the present investigation was a quasi-experimental method consisting of pretest and posttest given to 3 experimental groups [i.e., NFB (n = 15), tDCS (n = 15), and NLP (n = 15)] and 1 control group (n = 15). The statistical population was included patients who had been referred to mental health experts at comprehensive health service centers in Zahedan, Iran (2020). The sampling procedure was based on a simple random method with a population of 68 subjects (60 main samples and 8 alternatives). Following the completion of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) questionnaire, data were collected and then analyzed step by step using SPSS version 23. Results: The results of the multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) test showed that there would be significant decrease in the mean scores of depressions, anxiety, and stress between the pre-and posttest scores of the subjects in the treatment groups (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: NLP, tDCS, and NFB were significantly effective in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and stress. Considering the importance of the findings, non-pharmacological methods could be effective in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and stress.