Sapporo Medical Journal

Abstract : Background: Medical students are at high risk to depression and/or anxiety. Group psychotherapy using the Four-step Model is one of the treatments in Minia Egypt. Online group therapy, a relatively new modality is to be investigated for helping medical students suffering from depression and anxiety. The aim: To assess the efficacy of online group psychotherapy in Minia University in Egypt for depression, anxiety and quality of life in female medical students. Subjects and Method: The studied online psychotherapy group was arranged for adult female medical students (in different medical faculties). 14 subjects were diagnosed as depression or anxiety or both according to DSM-5. The 1st group session was on October 2020 on ZOOM Cloud Meetings application for one year. Participants were assessed pre group, after 6 month and post group by Hamilton Depression Scale(HAM-D), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) and 36-item Short Form questionnaire for quality of life(SF-36). Results: 14 participants were included in the study. There were statistically significant results regarding effect of the used model on improving depressive and\or anxiety symptoms added to its significant effect on improving the quality of life. Also, there is positive correlation between changes in HAM-D & HAM-A with negative correlation between changes in HAM-D & HAM-A and SF-36 score. Conclusion: Online Four-Step Model group psychotherapy is effective for depression and anxiety in female medical students a