Effectiveness of Existential Group Therapy on Experience and Perception of Suffering, Emotional Regulation and Happiness in Migraine patients

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of existential group therapy on experience and perception of suffering, emotion regulation and happiness in patients with migraine. The present study was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design and follow-up with a control group. The statistical population of this study consisted of all migraine patients in Genaveh city from August 2016 to April 2018 Of these patients, 40 were selected Using the available sampling method and randomly assigned to two groups of existential group therapy and control group. Existential group therapy was performed in the experimental group for 8 sessions of 120 minutes, one session per week, during which the control group did not receive intervention. The research instruments included the Experience and Perception Scale of Schulz (2010), the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire Garnefski et al (2001), and the Oxford Happiness Scale, Argyle & Lu (1990). To analyze the research findings, statistical analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc test was performed by repeated measures at a significance level of 0.05 in SPSS statistical software. The results of analysis of variance showed a significant decrease in the perception of suffering as well as a significant increase in emotion regulation and happiness compared to the control group and this effectiveness continued in the follow-up phase (p < 0.001). According to the results of the study, it can be concluded that existential group therapy is effective in reducing the perception of suffering, increasing happiness, improving emotional regulation in patients with migraine and can improve the quality of life and mental health of these patients Used treatment.