Metacognitive Therapy and Depression of Women with Breast Cancer

Objective: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy on decreasing depression in women with breast cancer. A single-case design was employed in this research.  Methods: An AB form of single-subject experimental design was used in this study with ۳ baselines (every ۱۰ days) before intervention stage and two measurements during intervention stage and one follow-up (after two month). Our statistical population was chosen from women who had referred to radiotherapy department of Imam Hussein Hospital in Tehran. Out of them, ۳ patients whose age range was ۲۰ to ۵۵ years, with non-metastatic tumor, no prior history of psychiatric disorders before cancer, scored >۲۰ (moderate depression) by Beck Depression Inventory, were selected through purposeful sampling. Intervention included ۸ sessions of ۶۰ minutes of metacognitive therapy once a week, which has been designed to suit of the patients with specific needs. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), and Depression Metacognitive Beliefs Scale (DMB-S) were employed to collect the data.  Results: The result of the analysis showed that the highest level of improvement in depression was ۵۶% and the lowest level was ۳۷%. In addition, the highest percentage of improvement in ‘thought rumination’ was ۳۵%, while the lowest percentage of improvement was ۲۱%. Finally, the highest percentage of improvement in ‘depression metacognitive beliefs’ was ۸۷%, whereas the lowest percentage was ۵۸%. In summary, the results indicated that metacognitive therapy would result in decrease of depression scores (in BDI scale), ‘thought rumination’ and ‘depression metacognitive beliefs’ (in DMB scale) and this effectiveness was persistent after two months follow-up.  Conclusion: It seems that metacognitive therapy can help women with breast cancer to reduce their depression and ‘thought rumination.’