RIPHAH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND LIFE SCIENCES

Contamination Obsessions and Washing Rituals: A Case Report on Severe OCD and its Psycho-therapeutic Management

Zobia Shah — 2025-09-23

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a chronic psychiatric condition characterized by intrusive, unwanted thoughts and repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing distress (APA, 2013). This aims to discuss the presentation, evaluation, and treatment of a 30-year-old female patient with OCD, specifically focusing on contamination fear and washing compulsions. The patient, sent to the Punjab Institute of Mental Health, showed contamination obsessions, repetitive washing habits, irritability, sleep disturbances, and interpersonal conflicts within the family. Detailed examination, involving the Mental Status Examination, and Dysfunctional Thought Records (DTR) and Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), established a diagnosis of severe OCD. For pre-assessment: Clinical Observation, Mental Status Examination, DTR and the Y-BOCS, and post-assessment: Clinical Observation, Mental Status Examination, DTR and the Y-BOCS were systematically used to evaluate symptom severity and therapeutic progress. Interventions comprised CBT with ERP, supported by psychoeducation, relaxation training (taught as structured coping skills rather than simple tips), cognitive restructuring, and self-esteem enhancement to reduce symptoms and improve functioning. Y BOCS reflecting a 52% reduction in symptom severity, average frequency of compulsions shows 76% reduction, and anxiety intensity shows 67% reduction. This case highlights the importance of early intervention, extensive assessment, and individualized cognitive behavioral treatments in managing OCD. It also emphasizes the need to consider environmental stressors, family functioning, and individual vulnerabilities when planning long-term interventions, as these factors may contribute to the onset and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Ethics in Research Related to Schizophrenia: Past Research and Future Implications

Zarrin Atif — 2025-09-23

Ethics holds an important place in research related to any field. Hence, the scientific community related to the field of psychology has its own sets of principles and ethical standards set by American Psychological Association (2024), that are deemed necessary for any research conducted in present times. However, in the past it was not always the case. The ethical standards for research in psychology have been built up from examples that helped in shaping principles and standards, with one such example are series of experiments conducted on the patients of schizophrenia in a university in USA. The article will shed light on the research, how it violated ethical principles of research and what the future concerns can be considering the research conducted on vulnerable population such as of patients of schizophrenia.

Efficacy of Surah Rahman Murattal Therapy in Enhancing Mental Health of Muslim Students

Samia Khalid — 2025-09-23

This study examines the impact of Surah Rahman Murattal Therapy on aggression, emotional regulation, and sleep quality among Muslim university students. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with purposive sampling was used, involving 48 undergraduate students (aged 18–26) from a private university in Lahore, Pakistan. Participants attended daily online sessions via Zoom for 21 consecutive days, where they listened to a 20-minute recitation of Surah Rahman followed by a brief spiritual practice. Standardized self-report measures were employed: The Buss & Perry Aggression Questionnaire (α = .83), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (α = .82), and the Modified Emotional Regulation Scale (α = .70). Paired-sample t-tests revealed a significant improvement in sleep quality (M = 1.57, SD = 2.14, t(17) = 3.12, p < .01), while changes in aggression and emotional regulation were positive but not statistically significant (p > .05). Two participants withdrew before completing the study. The findings suggest that Murattal therapy, as proposed in earlier works on Qur’anic recitation as a therapeutic model (Haque, 2004; Koenig, 2012), may be particularly effective for improving sleep quality in students. However, aggression and emotional regulation may require longer or multimodal interventions, such as integrating Murattal therapy with counseling, supportive environments, and lifestyle modification strategies. These adjunctive strategies are recommended as complementary rather than inherent components of Murattal therapy. Future research with larger samples and extended follow-ups is warranted to validate and extend these findings.

Controlling the Mutual Bullying Behavior of Children with Special Needs by Applying Behavioral Techniques

Sehrish Arshad — 2025-09-23

To study the efficiency of behavioral strategies in minimizing the bullying behavior in special education kids. The Quasi Experimental research model with pretest and post test was applied among 25 children with special needs. Data were collected through the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire and Behavioral Techniques Evaluation Scale. SPSS 23 was used to analyze data. Findings of the study revealed that bullying behavior among special education children decreased significantly following intervention. There was no significant difference in victimization scores between pre-test and post-test. It was also found in the study that proper and effective application of behavioral techniques can lower significantly the prevalence of bullying behaviors among children with special needs. In addition, the research indicated that participation in the intervention program is essential to success. There were no gender differences in the success of the intervention. The findings of the study have significant implications for creating effective interventions to decrease bullying behavior among children with special needs. The research indicates that behavior techniques interventions are effective in decreasing bullying behavior, as found in earlier research. Also, the study underscores the need for participant cooperation in the efficacy of behavioral interventions in curbing bullying behaviors. The findings of the study can inform future research on interventions aimed at managing bullying behaviors among special education children and guide the design of effective approaches to curbing bullying behaviors in schools.

Management of Guilt through Timeline Therapy under Hypnosis

Muhammad Adnan — 2025-09-23

Guilt is a negative emotion that is responsible for devastating psychological wellbeing. Managing guilt is always helpful for the better psychological well-being of humans. The current study aimed to check the effectiveness of Timeline Therapy for guilt management under hypnosis. This research will also be aimed at enhancing the psychological well-being of individuals living with guilty emotion. For this purpose, one group pretest - posttest, an experimental research design was used. A total of 20 participants living with guilt issues were recruited by using the Guilt and Shame Experience Scale (GSES), and mental health issues were assessed through Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). An intervention plan was developed which included Timeline Therapy. Three sessions of Timeline Therapy were conducted for each participant. The paired sample t-test was run to compare the pre- and post-assessment scores of the participants after applied the “Timeline Therapy” session. The result of the study showed the highly significant positive effect of Timeline Therapy for the management of guilt. Based on the present study results, it concluded that Timeline Therapy was highly effective for the management of guilt. It was a brief and time-limited intervention plan and less costly that is very helpful in managing guilt.