THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIALECTICAL BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (BASED ON EMOTION REGULATION TRAINING) ON IMPULSIVITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE I BIPOLAR DISORDER: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Background & Aims: Bipolar disorder is a truly debilitating and chronic disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of mania or depression with crucial effects on personal and interpersonal performance. This research aimed to study the effectiveness of dialectical behavioral therapy (emotion regulation skills training) on impulsivity and quality of life in patients with Type I bipolar disorder. Materials & Methods: This study quasi-experimental study was conducted with pre-test and post-test control group design. The population composed of all male patients in Razi Hospital of Tabriz during 2018. Using purposive sampling, 30 patients were selected and randomly assigned to experiment and control groups. The data was gathered through Impulsivity Barrat and Quality of Life WHO questionnaires. The experimental group received a 60-minute, twelve treatment sessions concerning the dialectical behavioral therapy. Data were analyzed by multivariate covariance analysis with SPSS (version 24) software. Results: The results of multivariate analysis of covariance showed that dialectical behavioral therapy had a significant impact (p<0.001) on improving the impulsivity and quality of life in bipolar patients. Conclusion: The findings of the present study suggest that the psychotherapy of bipolar disorder type I, dialectical behavioral therapy, along with the pharmacotherapy can be practiced to decrease the impulsivity and increase the quality life.