Comparing the Effectiveness of Two Therapeutic Methods "Cognitive-Behavioral" and "Based on Acceptance and Commitment" on the Sexual Schema of Postmenopausal Women

Sexual schemas are the central beliefs of a person's sexual dimensions that affect sexual and non-sexual performance. The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of two methods of cognitive behavioral therapy and therapy based on acceptance and commitment on the sexual schema of postmenopausal women.

This was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test and follow up design with control group, which was conducted in 2019-2020. Among the menopausal women who visited health centers in Zanjan to receive services, 45 people who scored less than 28 (out of 36) in the "Women's Sexual Performance Index" test were purposefully selected and they were divided into three groups of 15 people by random allocation method (2 intervention groups and one control group). In the first group, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and in the second group, acceptance and commitment-based therapy (ACT), were implemented for 8 sessions of 2 hours each. The data was collected from the intervention and control groups in the pre-test, post-test and follow-up stages with the "female sexual self-schema scale" which had 50 traits with a 7-point Likert scale. The data obtained from the research was analyzed through analysis of variance with repeated measures and using SPSS-24 software.

The results showed that cognitive behavioral therapy improved the sexual schema of postmenopausal women (F=4.355, p=0.021), while acceptance and commitment therapy did not have a significant effect on their sexual schema (F=0.232, p=0.633). In comparing the effects of two intervention groups on sexual schema (F=0.226 and p=0.638), no statistically significant difference was observed.

Based on the findings, cognitive behavioral therapy improves sexual schemas in postmenopausal women. Therefore, it is suggested to use this treatment method to improve the sexual schemas of postmenopausal women in health care centers.