Comparison of the effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (ECBT) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Level in Patients with Psoriasis

The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (ECBT) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on the C-reactive protein (CRP) level in patients with psoriasis.

This research is a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design, a follow-up period, and control and intervention groups. The statistical population included all patients with psoriasis visiting Skin and Stem Cell Research Center (SSRC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). In this study, 30 patients were selected as the sample and were randomly assigned to the control group (5 males and 5 females), the first intervention group (5 males and 5 females), and the second intervention group (5 males and 5 females). Patients in the first and second intervention groups participated in 8 sessions of ECBT and MBCT, respectively, and subjects in the control group received no intervention and were placed on the waiting list. The pretest, posttest, and follow-up CRP level were measured using laboratory kits. The data were analyzed using the repeated measures ANOVA through SPSS v22.

The results showed that both ECBT and MBCT reduced the CRP level equally. The same results were also obtained during the follow-up period.

The study findings suggested that both ECBT and MBCT can be effective treatments for physical, psychological, and biological problems caused by psoriasis.