The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral group therapy on self-concept and body image in burnt women

Background: Burn with disfigurement and disability causes physiologic and psychological disruption. One of the important disorders is the disturbance in self-concept and body image that causes diverse effects on burnt person’s well-being. Objective: The current study was aimed to examine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral group therapy on self-concept and body image in burnt women. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study carried out on two pre-test and post-test groups composed of 30 burnt women aged 20-40 years with 2nd or 3rd degree burn who had passed their acute phase and admitted to Rajaei Hospital in Qazvin during March to September 2011. Patients were selected through convenience sampling and divided into two groups of 15 members each. One group received cognitive-behavioral therapy and the other only received usual medical treatment. Data were collected using two questionnaires, the victim’s body image of burn injury questionnaire (Ali Hosseini) and the Beck self-concept questionnaire and further data analyzed by using of the co-variance test and t-test the comparison of the independent median. Findings: There were significant differences regarding both the body image (F=8.92) and self concept (F=9.23) between the experimental and control groups (P<0.05). In the follow up made one month later, there was positive improvement in body image (t=3.69) with no continuous positive effect on self-concept (t=1.64). Conclusion: CBT positively improved the body image and increased the self-concept in burnt women. Hence, to achieve continuous positive change, arrangement for workshops with serious supervision is recommended.