Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy on Emotional Regulation Strategies, Dysfunctional Attitudes, and Resilience in Women with Major Depression

Major depressive disorder is one of the most common psychological disorders that affect a person's performance, leading to several negative side effects. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy on emotional regulation strategies, dysfunctional attitudes, and resilience in women with major depression.

This study was semi-experimental. The statistical population included people with major depression referred to counseling and psychological services centers in Sari. They were selected by purposeful sampling and were randomly assigned to the experimental group (15 people) and the control group (15 people). Eight sessions of compassion-focused therapy were performed for the experimental group, and no intervention was performed for the control group. Data collection tools included the Emotional Regulation Strategies questionnaire (CERQ), Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Data were analyzed using a mixed analysis of variance with repeated measures.

The results showed that compassion-based therapy has a significant effect on increasing adaptive emotional regulation strategies and resilience and reducing dysfunctional attitudes in women with major depression (p<001).

According to the results, emotional regulation strategies, dysfunctional attitudes, and resilience can be corrected in women with major depression through compassion-focused therapy.