In Thailand, Rungreangkulkij and Wongtakee
(2008) developed individual Buddhist counseling
for 21 patients experiencing symptoms of anxiety
using a single-group pretest and post-test design.
The results revealed that the patients' scores on the
State Anxiety Test were reduced at the 1-month
follow-up posttreatment. However, using the group
therapy format for a homogeneous group is costeffective
(Jacobs, Masson, & Harvill, 2002).
Therefore, this study examined the effects of
Buddhist group therapy on the depressive symptoms
of patients who had type 2 diabetes and
depression using a quasi-experimental design with
blind assessment. The effects of Buddhist group
therapy were also compared to those of treatment as
usual (TAU).