Effectiveness of Cognitive-Analytical Therapy on Alexithymia and Interpersonal Problems in Patients with Functional Dyspepsia

Maliheh  Hashemi; Saied Malihialzackerini; Mohammad Kazem  Atef Vahid; Addis  Kraskian Mujumbari; Alireza  Delavari

doi:10.61838/kman.hn.2.1.16

Authors

Maliheh Hashemi PhD student, Department of Psychology, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran

Saied Malihialzackerini * Assistant Professor, Department of Health Psychology, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran saied.malihi@kiau.ac.ir

Mohammad Kazem Atef Vahid Associate Professor, Mental Health Research Center; Department of Clinical Psychology and Health Psychology, School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, (Tehran Institute of Psychiatry), Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Addis Kraskian Mujumbari Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran

Alireza Delavari Professor, Gastrointestinal and Liver Cancer Research Center, Research Institute of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran

https://doi.org/10.61838/kman.hn.2.1.16

Keywords:

Cognitive-Analytical Therapy, Functional Dyspepsia, Interpersonal Problems, Alexithymia

Abstract

Cognitive-Analytical Therapy (CAT) appears to be a suitable approach for intervening in the improvement of interpersonal problems in individuals with psychosomatic disorders. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Cognitive-Analytical Therapy on alexithymia and interpersonal problems in patients with functional dyspepsia. The present study employed a quasi-experimental method with a pretest, posttest, and follow-up design, along with a control group. The statistical population consisted of patients with functional dyspepsia who visited the gastroenterology clinic of Shariati Hospital in Tehran in 2021, from which 30 eligible volunteers were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two groups: the "Cognitive-Analytical Therapy" group and a control group. Research tools included a demographic questionnaire, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-32. The content validity of the tools was measured qualitatively, and their reliability was assessed using internal consistency by calculating Cronbach’s alpha. After conducting 16 therapeutic sessions for the intervention group, the data were collected and analyzed using SPSS software version 26. In the present study, there was a significant difference between the pretest, posttest, and follow-up scores for both variables (P = .001). There was also a significant difference between the intervention and control groups for both alexithymia (P = .001, F = 69.938) and interpersonal problems (P = .001, F = 70.598). The results indicated that Cognitive-Analytical Therapy is effective in reducing alexithymia and interpersonal problems in patients with functional dyspepsia. It is recommended that, in addition to medical treatments, psychotherapy interventions such as "Cognitive-Analytical Therapy" be provided for patients with functional dyspepsia.