The effect of group religious intervention on spiritual health and symptom reduction in patients with depression

Depression is considered a disease which is associated with various complications including suicide and imposes high costs on the health systems. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of group religious intervention on spiritual wellbeing and symptom reduction in patients with depression. Methods: In this clinical trial, 72 patients with depression were included using convenience sampling technique and then were randomly divided into patients with depression who underwent pharmacotherapy alone (group I) and those who underwent pharmacotherapy and religious intervention (group II). In addition, the religious group II participated in 5 90-minute sessions within three weeks and received the routine drug treatment. Then, a demographic questionnaire, Paloutzian and Ellison’s Spiritual Well-Being scale, and Hamilton Depression scale were completed. Finally, the data were analyzed by the SPSS software, version 18. Results: There was no significant difference between the demographic characteristics of the patients (P > 0.05). However, the mean scores of religious and existential aspects of spiritual health, as well as the mean total score of spiritual health after the intervention were significantly higher in group II who received religious intervention compared to group I (P < 0.05). Conversely, the mean score of depression significantly decreased in groups I and II after the study (P < 0.001). In other words, after intervention, the mean score of depression was significantly lower in group II who received religious intervention compared to the group I (P = 0.038). Conclusion: In general, religious intervention, reduced the symptoms of depression in patients in addition to increasing the level of the spiritual health of the patients.