Comparison of the Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Emotion-Focused Therapy on Anxiety and Distress Tolerance in Women with Coronary Artery Disease

Cardiovascular disease is one of the most common heart complications and is known as a chronic, progressive and debilitating disorder. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy and emotion-focused therapy on anxiety and distress tolerance in women with coronary artery disease.

Methodos: 

This was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group and a follow-up stage. The statistical population included all women suffering from coronary artery disease referring to the specialized center of Shahid Lavasani Hospital in Tehran in summer 2021. A total of 45 people were selected voluntarily and randomly and were divided into two experimental groups (n=30) and control groups (n=15). Measurement tools included Beck et al's Anxiety Inventory (1988) and Simons and Gaher’s distress tolerance scale (2005). One experimental group received cognitive behavioral intervention and the other group received emotion-focused intervention. The first experimental group underwent intervention in ten 90-minute in person sessions in ten weeks and the second experimental group in nine 90-minute in person sessions in nine weeks and the control group received the conventional intervention. SPSS 16 and repeated measures intergroup ANOVA were used at the significance level of α=0.05 to analyze the data.

Results showed that the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral and emotion-focused therapy in reducing anxiety was not significantly different and their effect was identical (p<0.05). However cognitive behavioral therapy was more effective in distress tolerance component (p<0.05).

Results of this research can become the basis for interventions to help coronary artery disease patients.