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Background and Aims: The current study was conducted in order to determine the prevalence rate of exposure to traumatic events and some of their related factors in male high school students in Urmia, Iran. Methods and Materials: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 946 male freshmen, junior and senior high school students in Urmia during 2010-2011 school year. The subjects were selected through multistage cluster random sampling. The participants responded to a demographic questionnaire and the Traumatic Events Screening Inventory for Children in their schools and in group. Collected data was analyzed in SPSS 18 by descriptive statistic, t-test, chi-square and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests.  Results: The results showed that 72.2% of participants had been exposed to at least one traumatic event. Watching violence on television, death of a close person, and severe illness of a close individual were the most prevalent events. The results of t-test showed that the prevalence of some events was increased with aging. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test revealed that some events were more prevalent in the low socioeconomic status. The chi-square test showed that there were correlations between educational field and the prevalence of some events. Conclusion: According to the susceptibility of adolescents, the high prevalence of traumatic events can be accounted as one of major health problems among this group of people. 

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Aim and Background: In this systematic review, virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) was introduced and its effect on anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were studied. VRET has some advantages, compared to in vivo and imaginal exposure therapies, including greater safety and controllability. Thus, it has been introduced as a novel therapeutic method for the recovery and reconstruction of traumatic emotional experiences. Methods and Materials: Two databases of ScienceDirect and PubMed were searched for this review. As a result, 39 interventional studies in which VRET was applied for treating anxiety disorders and PTSD were retrieved. Findings: Results showed VRET had a positive effect on anxiety disorders, including specific and social phobia, panic disorder and agoraphobia, and generalized anxiety disorder, in post-treatment assessments. Moreover, VRET had similar positive effects to that of current effective psychotherapies, including in vivo exposure therapy and cognitive behavior therapy. Results of the literature review indicated that VRET is effective in cognitive, behavioral, and physiological levels. Moreover, the positive effects of VRET often persist during long-term follow-ups. Conclusions: VRET can be a part of the treatment process of anxiety disorders and PTSD. Further studies in this respect are recommended.

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Aim and Background: The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) with exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy in reducing the obsessions and compulsions of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Methods and Materials: The present experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population included all patients with OCD who were older than 18 years of age and referred to private counseling centers and urban and rural health centers in Rasht Province, Iran, in 2014. The statistical sample consisted of 45 patients with OCD selected from among those who referred to these centers. The subjects were randomly divided into experimental (ACT and ERP groups) and control groups. The experimental groups received 8 treatment sessions lasting 45 minutes. In order to assess the severity of obsession and compulsion, the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was utilized. Findings: There were significant differences among the three groups in terms of post-test scores of obsession and compulsion (P ≤ 0.010). The results of Tukey's test showed that the mean ACT and ERP scores of both experimental groups were significantly lower than that of the control group (P ≤ 0.050). Conclusions: According to the results of this study, ACT causes a greater reduction in the severity of obsessions and compulsion. Thus, mental health experts can use ACT as a therapeutic option.

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Aim and Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) on reducing the symptoms of social avoidance and distress in people with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) . Materials and Methods: This was semi-experimental study was a pre-test-post-test design with control group. The statistical population of the study consisted of all students of Semnan University in the academic year of 2017-2018. Among them, 20 Students were selected by purposeful sampling and randomly assigned 10 subjects to the experimental group and 10 subjects to the control group. Students were screened for social anxiety disorder and diagnosis of other disorders from Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-4 (SCID-4) and Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN). The experimental group received individual VRET for 12 sessions, 30 minutes each week. Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SADS) was administered among the selected sample as pretest. VRET was performed in experimental group, and again, the questionnaires were administered among the participants as posttest. Findings: The results showed that VRET is effective in reducing social avoidance and distress symptoms in in people with SAD. Conclusion: The results showed the effectiveness of this therapeutic model on reducing the symptoms of social anxiety. This method can be used as a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of SAD and other same disorders.

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Aim and Background: Burnout in couples is a gradual and rarely sudden process in which intimacy and love are gradually faded and general fatigue becomes evident. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of reality therapy training on marital burnout in couple with marital conflicts.
Methods and Materials: This experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest design with control group and follow up 45 days. The statistical population of this study included all the couple with marital conflicts refer to counseling centers in Karaj city in year 2019-2020 and 14 couple with marital conflicts were considered as the sample size in one experimental groups (7 couple) and control (7 couple). The experimental groups underwent reality therapy training (12 sessions - 90 minutes), but the control group received no training and remained in the waiting list. To collect data marital conflicts questionnaire (MCQ) of Barati and Sanaee (1994) and marital burnout questionnaire (MBQ) of Pines (2003). Data analysis was performed using SPSS-24 software in two sections: descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential (analysis of variance with repeated measures and Bonferroni).
Findings: Results indicated that reality therapy training, significantly decreased marital burnout in couples, and the results have had enough consistency in the follow-up period, as well (P<0.05).
Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, it can be said that reality therapy training can be used as an intervention option in decreasing marital problems.