Effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy in reduction of psychological symptoms among patients of asthma

Abstract

Thepresent study was conducted to measure the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) in reducing the psychological symptoms among asthma patients. The main objective of the study was to identify the prevalence of psychological symptoms and then addressing those symptoms by providing intervention to asthma patients. 15asthma patients were taken from NESCOM hospital, Islamabad for the assessment of psychological symptom. Urdu version of Depression, Anxiety and Stress scale (DASS-21) (Aslam, 2007) was used for screening of psychological symptoms. The study was conducted in three phases i.e. pre assessment phase, intervention phase and post assessment phase. Pre assessment was done with the help of DASS-21 and then CBT interventions were used. After 8 sessions post assessment was done. Results of paired sample t-test revealed that there is statistically significant difference in levels of Depression, Anxiety and stress in post assessment phase of asthma patients. The qualitative analysis revealed symptoms of agitation, irritability, nervousness, apprehensiveness, sadness, lack of energy and there is marked reduction in these symptoms after receiving CBT. The study has profound implications in clinical setting that there is a need of psychological assessment, diagnosis and treatment for physiological illnesses.