Effectiveness Solution-Focused Therapy Group, to Reduce Stress, Anxiety and Depression in Caregivers of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Background and Objectives: Caring for a patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) creates a lot of physical, economic, social, and psychological problems for caregivers and the patient’s families, which can also lead to mental disorders in caregivers. the aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of solution-focused group therapy in reducing anxiety, stress, and depression among caregivers of multiple sclerosis patients. Methods: In this semi-experimental study, among the members of the family with multiple sclerosis, there were cases of MS in Kerman province. A total of 30 individuals, who had met the criteria for entering the study were selected by a sampling method and randomly divided into 2 groups: experimental (15 people) and control (15 people). For the experimental group, solution-focused group therapy was performed in 6 sessions of 90 minutes (1 session weekly), however, the control group did not receive any intervention. The instrument for data collection was a depression, anxiety, and stress (DASS-21) questionnaire. It was completed by both groups before and after intervention. Results: The results showed that the mean score of depression, anxiety, and stress after intervention was significantly lower in the caregivers of the experimental group than in the control group (P 0.001). In other words, solution-focused group therapy had a significant effect in reducing depression, anxiety, and stress among caregivers of people with multiple sclerosis. Conclusions: According to the results, solution-focused group therapy is effective in reducing depression, anxiety, and stress of caregivers of MS patients. Therefore, psychologists and rehabilitation therapists can use the positive effects of this method for caregivers.