EFFECTIVENESS OF MINDFULNESS BASED COGNITIVE THERAPY ON REDUCTION OF NEGATIVE AUTOMATIC THOUGHTS OF DEPRESSIVE PATIENTS

Abstract

Abstract The present research is aimed to study the effectiveness of mindfulness based cognitive therapy on reduction of negative automatic thoughts of depressive patients. It was a semi-experimental research, using pre-test post-test with control group design. The statistical population consists of 20-40 year old patients who were referred to Tehran Psychiatric Institute for depression in 2015. Out of them, on the basis of Cohen’s table, 30 patients who had negative automatic thoughts were screened and selected as a sample group and randomly assigned in 2 groups viz. experimental and control groups (15 patients in each group).Participants completed the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire. To analyze data, covariance analysis was used. Results showed that mindfulness based cognitive therapy reduced the negative automatic thoughts and its components in experimental group in comparison to control group. It can be concluded that mindfulness based cognitive therapy is effective on reduction of negative automatic thoughts and its components (viz. maladjustment, negative expectations, low self-confidence, and hopelessness) in depressive patients. Keywords : Mindfulness, Negative Automatic Thoughts, Depression