Patient Satisfaction with Treatment Method: A Determinant of the Efficacy of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Compared with Psycho-pharmacological Intervention Therapy

The first aim of the research was to compare the Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) with psychopharmacological intervention (PI) and to find out its effectiveness on Iranian women with Anxiety disorders (general anxiety disorder GAD, obsessive compulsive disorder OCD, social anxiety disorder SAD). The second one was to investigate which treatment satisfies the patients more. The sample consisted of 300 women from 18 to 45 who referred to counseling and mental health centers and private offices in Islamshahr city (Tehran state). They were divided into two groups: 1) One group with three disorders (GAD, OCD and SAD) referred to CBT. 2) The other group with the same disorders received PI. PI course lasted for at least 6 months and the total number of sessions for the CBT group was 12 to 16 (held every week). Primary diagnosis interview was on the basis of DSM-4-TR 2000. Then the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL90-R) test and the Jones’ irrational beliefs test (IBT) were performed in separate sessions. Research method was the quasi-experimental one with pre-test and post-test. The present study findings points out that the patients obtain more satisfaction from CBT than the other treatment. The patient’ satisfaction on was measured by an inventory at the end of treatment course. As we saw in this research, those patients who received CBT tended to introduce this method of treatment to others more than the other group and they were very satisfied with this method.