Comparison of the Effectiveness of God-Oriented Spiritual Therapy and Supportive Psychotherapy on Hostility, Blood Pressure, and Treatment Adherence in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome
Keywords:
Spiritual therapy, supportive psychotherapy, hostility, blood pressure, treatment adherence, metabolic syndromeAbstract
Purpose: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of God-oriented spiritual therapy and supportive psychotherapy on hostility, blood pressure, and treatment adherence among patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.
Methods and Materials: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with pretest, posttest, and follow-up assessments including a control group. The statistical population consisted of all patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome who attended healthcare centers in Tehran in 2025. A total of 45 participants were randomly assigned to three groups: spiritual therapy (12 sessions), supportive psychotherapy (10 sessions), and a control group. Research instruments included the Redford–Williams Hostility Inventory, the Treatment Adherence Questionnaire, and measurements of systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The spiritual therapy group received the Khodasoo multidimensional spiritual treatment package (12 sessions), the supportive psychotherapy group participated in ten sessions of supportive therapy, and the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Bonferroni post hoc tests.
Findings: Results indicated that both spiritual therapy and supportive psychotherapy significantly reduced hostility, improved treatment adherence, and decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared with the control group at posttest and follow-up stages (p < .001). No significant difference was observed between the effectiveness of spiritual therapy and supportive psychotherapy across most indicators; however, spiritual therapy demonstrated greater effectiveness in certain outcomes, such as diastolic blood pressure (p < .05).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that both psychotherapeutic approaches can serve as effective interventions for improving psychological and physiological indicators associated with metabolic syndrome. God-oriented spiritual therapy may offer a relative advantage in specific dimensions.
Conclusion: Based on these findings, the developed educational package appears suitable for promoting effective co-parenting.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Morteza Ansari Shahidi (Author); Sheida Jabalameli (Corresponding author); Mojtaba Ansari Shahidi , Ahmad Sobhani , Seyed Rouhollah Mousavizadeh (Author)
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