The effect of cognitive-behavioral and narrative group counseling on decreasing anxiety and depression in divorced and widowed Syrian women

Abstract

The current study sought to examine the effect of a group counseling program that combines cognitivebehavioral therapy and narrative therapy in reducing anxiety and depression among a sample of divorced and widowed Syrian women. The experimental group (n = 20) and the control group (n = 20) were chosen from a total available sample (n = 81) of the divorced and widowed Syrian women who visited one of the NGOs in Dhaleel, Zarqa, Jordan. A group counseling program was developed that consisted of (14) sessions with a rate of (3) weekly sessions, based on the perspectives of cognitive-behavioral therapy and narrative therapy. The results indicated that there are statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and the scores of the control group on the measures of anxiety and depression in the post-test in favor of the experimental group.