The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Rumination and Perceived Stress in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder face challenges in controlling rumination and stress. Therefore, the aim of this research was to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on rumination and perceived stress in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Methodology: The present study was a quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The research population consisted of all patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder of Ahvaz city in 2025 year; which 28 individuals of them were selected via purposive sampling method and randomly assigned to either the experimental or the control group. The experimental group underwent eight 90-minute sessions of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, while the control group remained on a waiting list for treatment. Data were collected using the ruminative questionnaire (Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991) and perceived stress scale (Cohen et al., 1983) and were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance in SPSS-25 software at a significant level of 0.05.

Findings: The findings showed that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy reduced rumination and perceived stress in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (P<0.001).

Conclusion: According to the results of the present research, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can be used to improve the health of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder—specifically by reducing rumination and perceived stress.