Shenakht Journal of Psychology & Psychiatry

Introduction: HIV remains a major concern for healthcare and mental health systems, with emotional dysregulation causing significant challenges for affected individuals.
Aim: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation therapy alone versus its combination with emotion regulation based on dialectical behavior therapy in addressing emotional problems among HIV patients with neurocognitive disorders.
Method: This quasi-experimental study employed a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design with a control group. The population comprised HIV patients attending the Behavioral Diseases Center at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2021. A sample of 69 patients was randomly assigned to three groups (23 each): one receiving cognitive rehabilitation therapy (10 one-hour sessions, twice weekly), another receiving combined therapy (10 cognitive rehabilitation sessions plus 8 two-hour emotion regulation sessions), and a control group on a waiting list. The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) was used to assess emotional problems. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance.
Results: Both interventions resulted in a significant reduction in emotional problems (including depression, anxiety, hostility, and interpersonal sensitivity) compared to the control group. Moreover, the combined therapy demonstrated greater effectiveness in reducing depression (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The findings highlight the superiority of combined therapy in improving emotional outcomes. It is recommended that treatment centers integrate this approach as a complement to pharmacological interventions, and future research should explore the long-term effects of these interventions.   
Keywords: Cognitive rehabilitation, Emotion regulation, Dialectical behavior therapy, HIV, Neurocognitive disorders, Emotional problems