Effectiveness of An Islamic Approach to Hope Therapy on Hope, Depression, and Anxiety in Comparison with Conventional Hope Therapy in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Hope therapy is an efficient and positive psychology intervention used to treat chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of hope therapy on anxiety and depression using an Islamic approach and compare this approach with conventional hope therapy in coronary heart disease (CAD) patients.

The study was conducted in the form of a randomized trial with pre- post-test, and control groups. A total of 45 patients with CAD were sampled through convenience sampling from a hospital in Qom city, Iran. Data were collected using Snyder’s hope questionnaire, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). After collecting pre-test data, the participants were randomly divided into three groups of peers, and the intervention sessions were performed in eight sessions of 90 minutes each. One experimental group received Islamic hope therapy, and the other experimental group was exposed to conventional hope therapy, while the control group received a stress relief package. All three groups undertook a post-test, the data from which were analyzed by SPSS 22, using Levin, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, and covariance tests.

Islamic and conventional hope therapy both significantly outperformed the stress relief package in terms of increasing hope and decreasing depression. Also, Islamic hope therapy had an especially significant effect on reducing anxiety.

Islamic hope therapy seems similar to conventional hope therapy in its ability to increase hope and reduce depression and is more effective in reducing anxiety. Therefore, it could be helpful in treatment of patients with CAD and other chronic diseases that cause patients a high level of anxiety.