Efficacy of Cognitive Therapy Based on Mindfulness on Mental flexibility and Cognitive Fusion in the Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy significantly improves mental flexibility and reduces cognitive fusion in people with irritable bowel syndrome. In a quasi-experimental study with 27 IBS patients (16 men, 11 women) assigned to either an experimental or control group, the experimental group received eight 75-minute sessions of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy over two months. Compared with the control group, the therapy led to significant improvements in mental flexibility and reductions in cognitive fusion, as measured by standard questionnaires. The findings suggest that techniques such as mindful attitudes, mindful activities, addressing problem-making feelings and emotions, and breathing exercises can serve as an effective intervention for these patients.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The primary objective of this research endeavor was to examine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on cognitive fusion and mental flexibility in individuals diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). It was a quasi-experimental study with a two-month follow-up period, pretest, posttest, and control group. The patients diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) who were referred to therapy centers and gastroenterologists in Esfahan in 2019 constituted the statistical population of the current study. A total of 27 IBS patients (16 men and 11 women) were selected through available sampling method and randomly accommodated into experimental and control groups. Over the course of two months, the experimental group participated in eight sessions of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, each lasting seventy-five minutes (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). The applied questionnaires comprised the mental flexibility and questionnaires (MFQ) and cognitive fusion Questionnaire (CFQ). The data were analyzed utilizing version 23 of the statistical software SPSS and a Bonferroni follow-up test and mixed variance analysis. Cognitive therapy based on mindfulness significantly improves the mental flexibility and cognitive fusion of IBS patients (P<0.001). According to the findings of the present study it can be concluded that cognitive therapy based on mindfulness can be used as an efficient intervention to improve mental flexibility and decreace cognitive fusion in the patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome through employing techniques such as mindful attitudes, mindful activities, addressing problem-making feelings and emotions and breathing exercises.