Comparison of the Effectiveness of Emotional Schema Therapy and Cognitive Therapy Based on Mindfulness on reducing the difficulty emotional regulation in Patients with Panic Disorder

The purpose of the study is to compare effectiveness of emotional schema therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on decrease of difficulty emotional regulation in women with panic disorder. This is an experimental study with pre-test, post-test and control group. The study population included all the women with panic disorder that were referred to educational, research & therapeutic 505 Hospital for outpatient therapy in Tehran city in 2017. 45 subjects were selected by random sampling method and randomly were divided into two experimental groups and one control group (n=15). Both experimental groups were under treatment within 8 sessions, weekly 2 sessions of 90 minutes while the control group received no treatment. The research tool included difficulties in emotion regulation scale (DERS) and panic belief inventory (PBI), which were conducted in pre-test, post-test. Data analysis showed that both emotional schema therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy were effective on difficulty emotional regulation of women with panic disorder. Results indicated a more effective emotional schema therapy on difficulty emotional regulation. Therefore, it can be used to improve emotional regulation.