effectiveness of stress management training by cognitive-behavioral method in women with depression

background: clinical researches indicate the increase of stress in the society and the number of patients with psychological disorders, especially depression. this study was performed to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention based on cognitive-behavioral methods on stress and depression among women with depressive disorder. methods: forty patients with depressive disorder who visited psychiatry and consultation clinics of isfahan were randomly divided into intervention and control group (n = 20 in each group). the subjects were recruited by multistage sampling method. stress management training was conducted for the intervention group in 8 sessions (90 minutes) through cognitive-behavioral techniques. data collection tools included stress questionnaire and hamilton depression inventory which was completed before and one month after the intervention in both groups. data were analyzed using covariance analysis. findings: in the intervention group, there was a significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores on stress levels and depression (p < 0.001). in the intervention group, adjusted mean difference of the stress score (f = 12.45, p < 0.001) and depression score (f = 5.36, p = 0.02) were statistically significant. conclusion: findings of this study showed that patients learned how to cope with stressful situations and act efficiently through these programs. this, in turn, will prevent depression recurrence or deterioration of the patients' condition.