the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy on mental health, self-esteem and emotion regulation of medical students with imposter syndrome

Background: medical students often experience self-doubt due to the demanding nature of their coursework and numerous assignments, which may indicate imposter syndrome (is). objectives: this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (cbt) in improving mental health, self-esteem, and emotional regulation among medical students dealing with is. methods: a semi-experimental design was used, incorporating a pre-test-post-test approach with a control group. the statistical sample included medical students from tarbiat modares university in 2023. a total of 36 students were selected through purposeful sampling and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 18) or the control group (n = 18). data collection tools included questionnaires assessing is, mental health, self-esteem, and emotion regulation. the experimental group received eight 90-minute cbt sessions based on the approach by egan and shafran (2017), while the control group received no intervention. data were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of covariance with spss24 software. results: the results showed that cbt significantly reduced expressive suppression (f = 78.04, η² = 0.72) and increased mental health (f = 37.73, η² = 0.56), self-esteem (f = 54.76, η² = 0.64), and cognitive reappraisal (f = 35.65, η² = 0.55) among students with is (p < 0.001). conclusions: the findings suggest that cbt is an effective intervention for improving the psychological well-being of medical students experiencing is. the significant improvements in mental health, self-esteem, and emotional regulation underscore cbt's potential as a valuable tool for this population.