effectiveness of a combined mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention on depression symptoms and quality of life in a group of iranian veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder

Background: comorbidity of anxiety and mood disorders is rather common, making the treatment of each disorder more difficult. posttraumatic stress disorder (ptsd) is one of the anxiety disorders with a high degree of association with depression; ptsddepression comorbidity can significantly affect the quality of life of the ones affected. hence, using the best way to deal with each of these disorders is highly recommended. objectives: the current study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a combined treatment of mindfulness-based stress reduction (mbsr) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (mbct) on ptsd and comorbid depression in combat veterans. methods: among patients referring to kashan veterans counseling center, 62 patients diagnosed with comorbid ptsd and depression according to diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-fourth edition-text revision (dsm-iv-tr) were selected, and randomly assigned into the two groups of case and control. the study was conducted in 2012. results: statistical analysis showed that after the intervention, the depression scores of the case group significantly decreased, while the similar trend was not observed in the control group (p < 0.05). furthermore, the total score and the scores of mental health and social functioning subscales of quality of life significantly increased in the case group. conclusions: according to the observed results, it seems that the combined treatment administered to the case group could aid the participants overcoming depression symptoms and subsequently raised their quality of life.