Background & objectives: Depression and perceived stress are considered among the most common symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Dialectical behavior therapy was presented as one of the most effective treatment of many disorders in the past decade. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of dialectical group behavior therapy on perceived stress and depression in patients with the irritable bowel syndrome.

Methods: The research method was an experimental pretest-posttest control group design with random assignment). Of all the patients referred to medical centers in Tabriz during 1393 SH, 30 patients selected with irritable bowel syndrome and Rome-III diagnostic criteria after using the interview, completed perceived stress questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory. The subjects were selected and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (n=15 per group). After completing dialectical behavior therapy in the experimental group, the questionnaire was administered in both groups. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis with SPSS-20 software.

Results: Dialectical group behavior therapy was significantly effective in reducing perceived stress (p= 0.004, F= 9.91) and depression (p= 0.005, F= 9.60) in patients with irritable bowel syndrome in experimental group, so that after the intervention the perceived stress and depression scores decreased in experimental group.

Conclusion: It seems that dialectical behavior therapy is effective in reducing perceived stress and depression in patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome and can be helpful in improving the symptoms of perceived stress and depression in these patients.