The Effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Therapy on Internalized and External Shame in People with Social Anxiety

Social anxiety disorder is one of the most common, chronic, and debilitating anxiety disorders. It is one of the fundamental causes of students' op in social and academic performance. This research aimed to determine the effectiveness of emotion-based therapy on the internal and external shame of people with social anxiety.

The semi-experimental research method was a pre-test and post-test with a 2-month follow-up and a control group. The statistical population was all students with social anxiety who were referred to Yazd University Counseling Center in the academic year 2022-2023. Using the available sampling method, 22 people who scored 19 and above in social anxiety were selected and replaced in an experimental group (n=11) and a control group (n=11). The experimental group underwent emotion-based therapy as a group; but the control group did not receive any intervention. Social Anxiety Inventory (SPIN), Internalized Shame Scale, and Other as Shamer Scale were used to collect information. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics (mixed variance analysis and Benferroni post hoc test) through SPSS version 24 software.

The results showed that the said treatment had a significant effect on reducing internal and external shame in the post-test and follow-up phase compared to the control group compared to the pre-test phase (P<0.05)

Based on the results of the present study, it can be said that emotion-based therapy can be used as a suitable treatment method to reduce the internal and external shame of students with social anxiety in psychological counseling and service centers.