Effect of Online Compassion-focused Therapy on the Symptoms severity, Post-traumatic Growth, Quality of Life, and Hippocampal and Amygdala Volume in Patients recovered from COVID-19

Author(s):
Fatemeh ModaresifardFatemeh Modaresifard1, Majid BarzegarMajid Barzegar1,*, Seyed Mohsen  ZamirSeyed Mohsen Zamir2, Ali KamkarAli Kamkar3
1Department of Psychology, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, Iran.
2Qazvin University of Medical Science, Qazvin, Iran.
3Department of Psychology, Zand Institute of Higher Education, Shiraz, Iran.
*Corresponding Author: Department of Psychology, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, Iran. Email: [email protected]

Journal of Inflammatory Diseases:Vol. 27, issue 1; e156340
Published online:Jun 30, 2023
Article type:Research Article
How to Cite:Modaresifard F, Barzegar M, Zamir SM, Kamkar A. Effect of Online Compassion-focused Therapy on the Symptoms severity, Post-traumatic Growth, Quality of Life, and Hippocampal and Amygdala Volume in Patients recovered from COVID-19. J Inflamm Dis. 2023;27(1):e156340. doi:

Abstract

Introduction: Acute epidemics and physical risks have severe adverse psychological effects on post covid patients. Most importantly, COVID-19 survivors who experience fear of survival are vulnerable to post-traumatic stress symptoms. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of online compassion-focused therapy in reducing the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms, increasing post-traumatic growth, improving quality of life and studying the changes in hippocampus and amygdala volume in recovered patients infected with the coronavirus in Shiraz, Iran and in It was done in 1401. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted between May 2021 and July 2022 among patients with the delta variant of COVID -19, in Shiraz, Iran. The statistical population included 40 patients with the delta variant (COVID -19) diagnosed with post-traumatic stress symptoms, who were purposefully sampled in the experimental groups (20 people) and control groups (20 people). They responded to Tedeschi and Calhoun's post-traumatic growth and development questionnaire, the PCL-5 post-traumatic stress disorder questionnaire, and the World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire-short form. We measured the volumes of the hippocampus and corpus amygdaloideum (amygdaloid body). The 1.5 T MRI was taken in oblique coronal plane using a section thickness of 3 mm, without any gap. We also investigated right-left volume differences in the hippocampus and the corpus amygdaloideum. For data analysis, multivariate and univariate analyses of covariance, mean and standard deviation were used. Results: Self-compassion psychotherapy significantly quality of life (p<0.001, F=30.675), post-traumatic growth (p<0.001, F=62.548) and reduced post-traumatic stress (F=103.335, p<0.001). In addition, the volume of the hippocampus and amygdala in the compassionate therapy group increased in the post-test phase (F=21.995, p<0.001). Conclusion: Self-compassion therapy can have positive effects on post-traumatic patients and lead to post traumatic growth. As these psychological treatments do not involve physical risks, special emphasis can be placed on the use of this treatment in clinics.

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Copyright

© 2023, Journal of Inflammatory Diseases. This open-access article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0) International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which allows for the copying and redistribution of the material only for noncommercial purposes, provided that the original work is properly cited.

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