Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Improving Psychological Symptoms in a Sample of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

The research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy in improving psychological symptoms (anxiety and depression) in a sample of rheumatoid arthritis patients, when compared to a control group (traditional medical care group). The final number of patients who completed the program (30), (13) In the experimental group, (17) in the control group, the cognitive-behavioral therapy group received a treatment program consisting of eight treatment sessions, and two preparatory sessions at two sessions per week, for a period of (6) weeks, and to evaluate the program, two subscales from the list of pathological symptoms were used, namely: Anxiety scale and depression scale, and the assessment was conducted before and after the program and after a month and a half of follow-up. the results of the research indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the two groups in the post-measurement, and the measurement in the follow-up period in the scale of psychological symptoms (anxiety and depression), and these differences were in the direction of Improvement of psychological symptoms for the CBT group in addition to medical treatment. These results indicate the effectiveness of CBT when it is added to conventional medical treatment in improving mental health Psychological symptoms.