Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic and disabling disease with unknown etiology. There have been some controversies regarding the role of psychological factors in the course of IBD. The purpose of this paper is to review that role. First the evidence on role of stress is reviewed focusing on perceived stress and patients' beliefs about it in triggering or exacerbating the course of IBD. The possible mechanisms by which stress could be translated into IBD symptoms, including changes in motor, sensory and secretory gastrointestinal function, increase intestinal permeability, and changes in the immune system are, then reviewed. The role of patients' concerns about psychological distress and their adjustment to disease, poor coping strategies, and some personality traits that are commonly associated with these diseases are introduced. The prevalence rate, the timing of onset, and the impact of anxiety and depression on health-related quality of life are then reviewed. Finally issues about illness behavior and the necessity of integrating psychological interventions with conventional treatment protocols are explained.

Effective evidence-based intervention for traumatic bereavement is one of the current major research issues in the field of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents. The "Writing for Recovery" group intervention is a new treatment approach developed by the Children and War Foundation for traumatized and bereaved children and adolescents after disasters. The purpose of this project was an empirical examination of this intervention with 12- to 18-year-old war bereaved Afghani refugees. Eighty-eight war bereaved Afghani refugees were screened using the Traumatic Grief Inventory for Children (TGIC). From those with the highest total score, 61 were randomly assigned to either an experimental (n = 29) or control group (n = 32). The experimental group received six sessions of group training on 3 consecutive days in their school. The difference of TGIC scores between the experimental group in pretest and posttest was significant (p = 0.001). Results of analysis of covariance also showed a significant effect of Writing for Recovery on the experimental group (p < 0.001). It is concluded that "Writing for Recovery" is an effective group intervention for bereaved children and adolescents after disasters.

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of memory specificity training (MEST) on autobiographical memory recall and depression. Afghan adolescents with depression were randomly assigned to a MEST group or to a control group. At baseline, both groups completed Persian versions of the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) and the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ). The MEST group then had five weekly group sessions of MEST. The control group had no additional contact. The AMT and MFQ were then readministered to all participants, and the MFQ was readministered at 2-month follow-up. The MEST group retrieved a higher proportion of specific memories following training and had lower levels of depression at 2-month follow-up than did the control group. Change in memory specificity predicted follow-up depression over and above baseline depression and mediated the relationship between receipt of MEST and reduction in later depression. The results suggest that MEST can improve autobiographical memory performance and drive subsequent reduction in depression symptoms.

Cognitive bias modification paradigms training positive mental imagery and interpretation (imagery CBM-I) hold promise for treatment innovation in depression. However, depression is a global health problem and interventions need to translate across settings and cultures. The current pilot study investigated the impact of 1 week of daily imagery CBM-I in treatment-seeking individuals with major depression in outpatient psychiatry clinics in Iran. Further, it tested the importance of instructions to imagine the positive training materials. Finally, we examined the effects of this training on imagery vividness. Thirty-nine participants were randomly allocated to imagery CBM-I, a non-imagery control program, or a no treatment control group. Imagery CBM-I led to greater improvements in depressive symptoms, interpretive bias, and imagery vividness than either control condition at post-treatment (n = 13 per group), and improvements were maintained at 2-week follow-up (n = 8 per group). This pilot study provides first preliminary evidence that imagery CBM-I could provide positive clinical outcomes in an Iranian psychiatric setting, and further that the imagery component of the training may play a crucial role.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of metacognitive therapy (MCT) on symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and on symptoms of thought-fusion, by means of a wait-list controlled clinical trial. Participants were referred from dermatology and cosmetic surgery clinics in the city of Isfahan, Iran, and 20 patients were selected on the basis of DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for BDD. They were randomly assigned to either the experimental or the wait-list control group. The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Modified for Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD-YBOCS) and the Thought-Fusion Inventory (TFI) were used as the outcome measures. The experimental group received 8 weekly metacognitive intervention sessions. The control group was in the waiting-list until the end of the follow-up. Measures were taken at pre-test, post-test (after 2 months) and follow-up (after 6-months). The results of analysis of variance showed that MCT significantly reduced the symptoms of BDD and of thought-fusion, compared to the wait-list. Effects on both outcome measures were maintained at 6-months follow-up.