Comparing the Effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Combined with Lithium Carbonate on Illness Perception and Patient Treatment Adherence in Women with Bipolar I Disorder
Keywords:
Dialectical behavior therapy, lithium carbonate, illness perception, patient treatment adherence, Bipolar I DisorderAbstract
The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy combined with lithium carbonate on illness perception and patient treatment adherence in women with Bipolar I Disorder. The present study employed a quasi-experimental method using a pretest–posttest design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all women with Bipolar I Disorder in Tehran in 2026 who were referred to the Missing Piece Psychological Services and Counseling Center. In the present study, 28 participants from the target population were selected using a purposive non-random sampling method based on the inclusion criteria. Subsequently, they were randomly assigned into an experimental group (n = 14) and a control group (n = 14). Following participant attrition, 12 participants successfully completed the intervention. The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Broadbent et al., 2006) and the Patient Treatment Adherence Questionnaire (Khodapanahi, 2016) were used in this study. The experimental group participated in 10 sessions of dialectical behavior therapy, each lasting 120 minutes, while receiving lithium carbonate; whereas the control group received no intervention. The collected data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance models. The results indicated a significant difference between the posttest mean scores of the experimental and control groups (P < 0.01). The findings suggest that dialectical behavior therapy combined with lithium carbonate may be used as an effective therapeutic approach for improving illness perception and patient treatment adherence in women with Bipolar I Disorder.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Fatemeh Abedi (Author); Mehryar Anasseri
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
