Investigating the efficacy of aromatherapy-based mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy on improving depression symptoms

Background: Major Depressive Disorder is a common disorder in prisoners that is usually associated with reduced olfactory sensitivity and defects in hedonic responses to olfactory stimuli. Due to the limited access to psychotherapy resources and drug alternatives, there is a fundamental need for the development of complementary treatments such as psycho-aromatherapy for these patients. Aims: The present study tries to compare the effectiveness of aromatherapy-based mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy on improving symptoms in depressed patients. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test, alongside two experimental and one control group. The statistical population of the study consisted of all depressed patients in Shahrekord Prison. A total of 45 patients were selected using convenience sampling method and were randomly assigned to three groups. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II, 1996) was used for data collection. Univariate covariance analysis and Scheffé post hoc test were employed for data analysis with SPSS-25 software. Results: The means of the post-tests for the aromatherapy-based mindfulness were (M= 30.89), cognitive behavioral Therapy (M= 32.08) and control (M= 45.75), which showed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups (F= 10.79, P< 0.000). Conclusion: Aromatherapy-based mindfulness can be suggested as an effective clinical intervention along with cognitive behavioral therapy to improve the depression of prisoners.