Effect of group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on psychological well-being and glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes

This study was designed to determine whether participation in group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) would result in better glycemic control, higher motivation in diabetes self-management, and improved psychological well-being. The experimental design involved a sample of 60 Malaysian adults having type 2 diabetes for more than a year, drawn from the health clinic at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. Participant volunteers were males and females aged between 20 and 65 years of various ethnic backgrounds. Glycemic control was measured by HbA1c value for each participant with pre- and post-blood tests, while psychological well-being was measured by the Well-being Questionnaire (W-BQ 22) developed by Bradley (1990) to measure depression, mood, anxiety, and various aspects of positive well-being exclusively for diabetics. CBT intervention program and patient education supplements were administered to the experimental group over 3 months, whereas the control group received neither; both groups carried on their normal type 2 diabetes treatment and physicians’ consultations. The results indicated that group CBT improved the mean psychological well-being scores among participants in the experimental group from 37.56 in the pretest to 49.83 in the posttest. The findings of the current study suggested that the therapy could also help diabetics achieve more acceptable HbA1c levels and better adjust to diabetes.