GROUP THERAPY PRACTICE WITH DEPRESSION: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Abstract

The depression that we often encounter in the 21st century can be cured with special therapy groups. In this study, a group of students diagnosed with depression participated in the therapy process with the group of cognitive therapy theory. The experimental group of the research is composed of 7 students who are selected in the Social Work Department of the Faculty of Science and Literature of Sakarya University and selected for the purpose. In the first and last session of the 8-week therapy sessions, the effect of the group therapy period on the depression levels of the students was examined by applying the Beck Depression Inventory. In the processing and analysis of the data, Non-Parametric T-Test and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test were applied and descriptive analysis technique was used by examining the weekly reports of the group members. It was observed that there was a significant difference in the depression levels of the students and it was revealed that the group had a change in the cognitive processes such as despair, insomnia, success, blaming oneself. Sociodemographic information of the group members and their thoughts on the group work process support this. It was seen that this work was one of the application areas of the Social Work profession, but only in limited numbers. It is expected that stduyinging in this context will contribute to the literature