Comparing the Effectiveness of Solution-Focused Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy on Self-Care and Quality of Life in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of solution-focused therapy and dialectical behavior therapy on self-care and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes. The present research was a semi-experimental pre-test, post-test with control group design including a follow-up period. The study population consisted of women with diabetes attending a health care center in District 6 of Tehran, of whom 45 were purposively selected and randomly assigned to two experimental groups (solution-focused therapy and dialectical behavior therapy) and one control group. The Self-Care Self-Efficacy Questionnaire by Lu (1996) and the WHOQOL BREF quality of life questionnaire were used. The first experimental group underwent seven 90-minute sessions of solution-focused therapy, and the second experimental group underwent eight 90-minute sessions of dialectical behavior therapy. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used for data analysis. Findings indicated that both solution-focused therapy and dialectical behavior therapy significantly improve self-care and quality of life (p < 0.05). Additionally, results showed that dialectical behavior therapy was more effective than solution-focused therapy in improving self-care and quality of life (p < 0.05). In conclusion, both solution-focused therapy and dialectical behavior therapy are effective in improving self-care and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes, with dialectical behavior therapy being more effective. Therefore, these approaches can be utilized alongside medical interventions in clinical settings.