MPhil Thesis

Efficacy of EMDR Therapy in the Treatment of Depression

2025-11-06T00:00:00Z

Efficacy of EMDR Therapy in the Treatment of Depression Sultana, Mariyam Eye movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is well established treatment for post-traumatic stress disorders. The literature review emphasizes that Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is also effective in treating depression, making it a promising intervention for mental health challenges. Among Bangladeshi population the prevalence of depression is 57.9%. The effectiveness of EMDR Therapy within the context of Bangladeshi culture stays underexplored. This gap in knowledge is a core motivation for investigating the efficacy of EMDR therapy in treating patients with depression in Bangladesh. The Current Research purpose is to investigate whether EMDR Therapy is effective in treating clients with Depression And also to Compare EMDR with CBT and TA as comparative approaches to see whether they are equally effective in treating Depression clients. To collect data the convenience and purposive sampling techniques were used. In this study 21clients participated in total. Among 21 participants, 9 were receiving EMDR therapy, 6 were receiving CBT and 6 were receiving TA. A total of 16 Therapists participated for data collection from clients and for providing data (both Quantitative & Qualitative data) to researcher. Informed Consent was taken from participants and therapists. In data collection purpose researcher was also included in EMDR therapy group and TA group. The 3 groups were assessed with Bangla PHQ-9 scale and Bangla Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS). The scales were applied with clients in 1st, 3rd and 6th session with every participant. The Result shows The EMDR group had a continuous decrement of depression over time, and the CBT and TA groups had a high but sometimes irregular pattern in reducing depression. EMDR reduced depression to the greatest extent, CBT reduced depression to the second greatest extent, and TA reduced EFFICACY OF EMDR THERAPY ON DEPRESSION XIII depression to the least extent. As a result, the findings appear to be utilized for treatment purposes in psychotherapy for depression and for future research. This study confirms previous studies about Depression treatment with EMDR therapy to some extent although it has some different outcomes adjacent with Bangladeshi culture and perspectives. This thesis is submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy.

Nonviolent communication as an intervention for anxiety and depression among adults.

2025-02-06T00:00:00Z

Nonviolent communication as an intervention for anxiety and depression among adults. Naher, Roufun The purpose of this study was exploring the impact of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) intervention on the quality of life of the individuals with anxiety and depression. The specific objectives included exploring the nature of anxiety and depression experienced by participants, assessing the acceptability of NVC intervention for individuals with anxiety and depression, and examining the influence of NVC intervention on managing anxiety and depression in their daily lives. The research involved 10 Bangladeshi adult participants with mild to severe anxiety and/or depression, selected through purposive sampling. The study employed a qualitative design, and participants underwent both individual and group NVC intervention sessions, including six group sessions and a minimum of six individual sessions. The data was collected using the in-depth interview method, and thematic analysis was employed for data analysis. The findings have been compartmentalized into three sections based on the specific objectives of this research. The initial section presents themes and sub-themes related to the nature of anxiety and depression experienced by the participants. The findings indicate that participants underwent various adverse life experiences that impacted their emotional regulation, daily functioning, self-perception, and relationships. The second section covers themes and sub-themes regarding the acceptability of NVC intervention for the individuals experiencing anxiety and depression. Results from this section reveal that participants welcomed and embraced NVC intervention through both individual and group sessions, positively affecting their quality of life. This leads to the third section of the research, focusing on the impact of the intervention. The themes and sub-themes in this section disclose that NVC intervention alleviated symptoms of anxiety and depression, fostering self-awareness, selfmanagement, improved interpersonal communication, enhanced self-efficacy, and instilled vi hope for applying Nonviolent Communication principles. Nevertheless, it was observed that participants with dependent personality traits, profound distress, and physical illnesses found the intervention challenging to implement. The comprehensive results derived from this study indicate that Nonviolent Communication serves as a well-received and efficacious instrument in effectively addressing both anxiety and depression. This implies that the application of Nonviolent Communication can play a significant role in providing effective support and coping mechanisms for individuals dealing with anxiety and depression. This Dissertation is submitted to the Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Dhaka as Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in Educational and Counselling Psychology.

Effects of Stabilization Techniques in Managing Psychological Distress

2025-02-04T00:00:00Z

Effects of Stabilization Techniques in Managing Psychological Distress Banu, Sadeka Study shows that psychological distress is a prevalent issue in Bangladesh, with a significant portion of the population experiencing mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, stress, trauma and PTSD etc (GBD, 2017; WHO, 2020; Banna, et al., 2020; Cai et al., 2021; Rozario & Islam, 2022; Riaz, Islam, Ahmed, et al, 2023; Chowdhury, 2023). Based on the research gap and the potential benefits of stabilization techniques with bilateral stimulation (BLS), the present study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of stabilization techniques (with and without BLS) in managing psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress) and their effects on self-esteem and mental well-being among the Bangladeshi citizens. Thus, to provide valuable insights about the effectiveness of stabilization techniques, the current study aimed to- a) investigate the effectiveness of stabilization techniques in managing psychological distress such as depression, anxiety and stress of adult population b) examine the effectiveness of stabilization techniques on self-esteem and mental well-being, c) compare the effectiveness of stabilization techniques with and without BLS in managing psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress), d) examine the impact of stabilization techniques on psychological distress regarding different demographic variables such as gender, educational level and age, e) investigate the effectiveness of the stabilization techniques (with and without BLS) through online platform, f) inquire about the stabilization technique practices in Bangladesh of EMDR therapy practitioners and g) provide recommendation for the integration of stabilization techniques with and without BLS in clinical practices. A sample of 61 took part in this present study. The samples were collected through the purposive sampling technique. Among the 61 participants 54 were received counselling session and rest of the 7 took part xiii in in-depth interviews. The 54 participants were divided into two groups-Treatment group-1 (with BLS) consisted of 25 participants who received counselling sessions using BLS and Treatment group-2 (without BLS) comprised of another 29 participants and they received counselling sessions without BLS. The 9 out of 54 participants attended online counselling services, 4 were in Treatment group-1 and 5 participated in Treatment group-2. The 3 counsellors used abdominal breathing and container exercises for both with and without BLS group as common techniques. The rest of the four tools (Grounding Technique, Inner Garden, Resource Team Exercise and Healing Light) implemented with BLS in Treatment group-1 (with BLS group) through eye-movements and butterfly hug techniques and for the Treatment group-2 (without BLS group) these tools were administered without BLS. The researcher collected data 3 times (pre-test, post-test and follow-up test) from the total 54 participants using Bangla Warwick Edinburg Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) (Rahman & Islam, 2013), Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, Bangla Version, (DASS 21V) (Alim et al., 2016), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) and Guidelines for In-depth Interviews (IDIs) and 7 in-depth interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data with 7 EMDR practitioners. One-way repeated measurement ANOVA, Post hoc comparison using Bonferroni correction, t-test, Cohen’s d size effect, Kruskal Wali's test and Mann-Whitney U test were performed within the scope of the research were carried out using SPSS 27 (IBM, 2021) for quantitative and thematic analysis for qualitative data analysis. The results showed that stabilization techniques were statistically significant in managing psychological distresses (depression F (1.301, 67.654) =131.555, p<.001, partial eta squared = 0.717; anxiety F (1.503, 78.178) = 209.616, p<.001, partial eta squared = 0.801; and stress F (1.503, 89.808) = 212.163, p < .001, partial eta squared = 0.801.) and xiv increasing self-esteem and well-being (self-esteem F (1.586, 82.497) =100.412, p<.001, partial eta squared = 0.659 and mental well-being F (1.429, 74.310) =210.926, p<.001, partial eta squared = 0.802) of the study participants. Furthermore, the pairwise comparison among the psychological distresses (depression, anxiety and stress) and time (pre, post and follow-up test) evident statistically significant differences too. The results showed that during post and follow-up test all the groups size effects are large and medium only self-esteem has small size effects. The results also revealed that stabilization techniques with BLS is more effective than without BLS. The study did not find any significant differences among gender, age and educational level regarding stress and depression. Only in case of anxiety, significant differences ((M=15.00, SD=8.587) p<.05) were found for the age range of 26-35 years. The result showed that stabilization techniques through the online platform was also significant and their partial eta squared was from medium to large. In addition to this, the Mann-Whitney U test statistics for both online with and without BLS and for post and follow-up were greater than .05 except for the self-esteem post and anxiety follow-up scores. Therefore, no significant differences were found between online with and without BLS but during post-test of self-esteem and follow-up test of anxiety with BLS is more effective than without BLS. The qualitative data highlights the positive effects and applicability of stabilization techniques. Measures should be taken to incorporate stabilization techniques in daily clinical practices, to provide more training for mental health professionals and to conducted related research for ensuring evidence-based ethical practices and thus, contribute to bring a positive change in mental health sector of Bangladesh. A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy (M. Phil) in Counselling Psychology in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at the University of Dhaka

Effectiveness of the foundation course on therapeutic play in Bangladesh

2024-04-30T00:00:00Z

Effectiveness of the foundation course on therapeutic play in Bangladesh Imran, Mostak Ahamed The study aimed to investigate the cultural efficacy of Foundation Courses on Therapeutic Play (FCTP) as well as to explore the scopes and barriers in using play therapy in Bangladeshi context through assessing the attitudes, knowledge, and skills of the study participants. Fifty participants having prior experience of dealing with children were chosen purposively for enrolment in the course and involvement in the study. The questionnaire developed by Kao and Landreth (1997) was used to examine participants' attitudes, knowledge, and skills relevant to play therapy during the data collection phase. The results on all three subscales (Attitude, Knowledge, and Skills) went up from the pre-test to the post-test, and the difference was statistically significant with a notable effect size. The barriers and scope of incorporating therapeutic play in the workplace is being studied from the participants with the help of follow-up form. The investigator also kept a reflective journal throughout the course to gain a deeper grasp of the viewpoints and emotions held by both the participants and the investigator regarding the course. Respondents praised the pattern of the course, found it interesting and informative, and felt that it met their needs. Furthermore, they perceived the course to be beneficial in terms of improving their comprehension, expertise, and capabilities. The findings of the study emphasize the need to improve the dissemination of therapeutic play training in a number of contexts in order to make play therapy available to a broader demographic. A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy (M. Phil) in Educational Psychology from the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at the University of Dhaka.