The Effect of Guided ımagery Supported Psychoeducation Applied to ındividuals Diagnosed With Depression on Depression, Self-esteem and Stress Level

Plain-language summary

Depressive disorder is a common mental disorder. Depression, whose classic symptoms include depressed mood, anxiety, anhedonia and cognitive impairments that profoundly affect quality of life, is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide and the main cause of death by suicide. 3.8% of the world's population suffers from depression, including 5% of adults (4% of men and 6% of women) and 5.7% of those over 60 years of age. Approximately 280 million people worldwide are known to suffer from depression. Depression is often referred to as a stress-related disorder and stress caused by adverse life events, including early in life, is known to contribute to the onset, development and progression of this disorder. Studies have shown that high levels of exposure to negative stressors contribute significantly to cases of depression and that it is important to recognize stress exposures in a timely manner in these individuals. Research has also revealed that self-esteem plays an important role in depression. Self-esteem is defined as "a particular attitude and perception of one's self" that influences one's interactions and feelings towards oneself and others. Low self-esteem has been empirically shown to be a risk factor for the development of depression and suicidal ideation. Low self-esteem is a symptom of depressive disorders and is considered by some to be a precursor to relapse, while high self-esteem seems to buffer against depression. Although effective treatments for depression are available, not all patients receive treatment and of those who do, a significant proportion do not recover. New low-cost and easily accessible ways of dealing with the health burden of depression are increasingly recognized as important. There are a wide range of psychological interventions to treat depression, and one that has been shown to be effective in treating depression is psychoeducation. Psychoeducation is offered to help people with mental disorders understand and manage their illness. It is done by strengthening patients' resources and skills so that they can better cope with their condition, prevent relapse and contribute to their own health and well-being. Studies have shown that psychoeducation programs have positive effects on depression. Another method, Directed Imagery Technique (DIT), is an effective, economical and therapeutic technique that can be easily used in nursing practices. YIT is a set of stories that individuals create by visualizing the symbols given by the practitioner after relaxation exercises. Within the scope of this technique, which is a window to the inner world of the person, the creation of one's own unique story through symbols is encouraged. This randomized controlled experimental study will be conducted to evaluate the effect of guided imagery supported psychoeducation on depression, self-esteem and stress levels of individuals diagnosed with depression. The population of the study will consist of individuals diagnosed with depression who applied to Kilis Alaeddin Yavaşça State Hospital Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic. The sample of the study will consist of 60 individuals (30 experimental and 30 control) who applied to Kilis Alaeddin Yavaşça State Hospital Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic and agreed to participate in the study. In both groups, a face-to-face interview technique will be used to administer the Introductory Information Form, Beck Depression Scale (BDS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RBSS) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the responses of the individuals will be recorded. The experimental group will be administered individually face-to-face twice a week for a total of three weeks. In addition, the audio recording made in a professional studio environment will be used for individuals to listen at home. Individuals will be instructed to listen to the audio recording twice a week for three weeks starting from the second week when the researcher started to apply the imagery technique. After the interventions applied to the experimental group are over, the scales will be applied again to the individuals in the experimental and control groups.

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