Effectiveness of an Online Religiously-integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-based Intervention on Death Anxiety

Investigating the Effectiveness of an Online Religiously-integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-based Intervention on Death Anxiety

There has been growing awareness of the importance of death anxiety (DA) in pathological anxiety. DA is defined as a persistent and unreasonable fear of death and thoughts, fears, and emotions associated with the end of life. DA has been suggested as a core fear that underpins the emergence and perseverance of numerous anxiety disorders. However, previous DA-based treatment studies focus on the elderly, the patients, or health professionals who care for the terminally ill. Therefore, there is a need to examine the effect of psychological interventions on DA and current disorder symptoms in a clinical sample through randomized controlled trials. The current study aims to develop a novel Religiously Integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (RCBT)-based intervention on DA in individuals diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and to compare the effectiveness of RCBT-based intervention with classical CBT-based intervention.

Religion facilitates the pursuit of symbolic immortality by providing individuals with purpose and hope in both life and death. Those who believe in an afterlife also see their world as fairer, which results in lower levels of psychiatric symptoms. Previous CBT-based death anxiety interventions did not consider the assumption of an afterlife. RCBT is an approach that integrates spiritual or religious beliefs into the therapeutic process. RCBT is an approach that recognizes the importance of spirituality or religion in a client's life and aims to use these beliefs and practices positively within the context of evidence-based CBT. Briefly, no intervention studies have investigated the effect of RCBT on DA. This will be the first study to develop an RCBT-based intervention for DA.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 18-65
• A score of > 26 on the Turkish Death Anxiety Scale
• Diagnosed with one of the anxiety disorders
• Believing in life after death

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and delusional disorder
• Being in an active manic episode
• Possessing a mental disorder that interferes with completing measures or understanding the exercises conducted during sessions
• Extreme symptoms of depression (score of > 20 on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and >1 on the item assessing suicidality)
• Currently receiving therapy.