An Exploratory Clinical Study of Structured Psychological Intervention for Menopausal Symptom Management

Area of Science:

• Women's Health
• Psychology
• Menopause Research

Background:

• Menopause involves complex physiological, psychological, and sociocultural changes.
• Hormonal decline alone does not fully explain symptom variability.
• Persistent psychological and cognitive symptoms necessitate integrative approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate a structured, non-pharmacological psychological intervention for perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms.
• Target emotion regulation and cognitive appraisal to alleviate symptoms.
• Assess immediate and short-term outcomes of the intervention.

Main Methods:

• Mixed-methods, exploratory, repeated-measures design.
• Sixty-four women (aged 39-60) with moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms.
• Single standardized therapeutic session with assessments at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and at 1- and 4-week follow-up.

Main Results:

• Significant reductions observed across all 19 symptom domains.
• Large to very large effect sizes for psychological and cognitive symptoms, sustained over time.
• Moderate effect sizes for physical and vasomotor symptoms; 89% of symptoms showed large/very large effect sizes.

Conclusions:

• Structured psychological intervention offers meaningful short-term benefits for menopausal symptom management.
• The intervention shows potential as an adjunctive approach.
• Further randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm efficacy and long-term effects.