The Effectiveness of Schema Therapy on Coping Styles in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of schema therapy on coping styles in rheumatoid arthritis patients. The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test and a control group design. The 30 patients with rheumatoid arthritis who met the study's inclusion criteria were selected by purposeful sampling and entered the study randomly. Schema therapy was performed based on the model of Rizzo et al. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics indicators, including ANOVA with repeated measures, multivariate analysis of covariance, and one-way covariance in MANCOVA were used for data analysis. The effectiveness of schema therapy on the coping styles of patients with rheumatoid arthritis is stable. Comparing the pre-test-post-test and pre-test-follow-up stages showed a significant difference in all coping styles between the research groups. Also, the results showed a significant difference between the mean scores of problem-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance coping styles. Performing schema therapy for rheumatoid arthritis patients can reduce the pain and suffering of these patients to some extent. It is suggested that in the policy of the country's health care system, plans be made to use schema therapy to reduce the pain of these patients.