The effectiveness of group counseling in the form of compassion-focused therapy on social relationships and emotional pain in women with breast cancer

The aim of this research was to determine the effectiveness of group counseling as a treatment focused on compassion on social relationships and emotional pain in women with breast cancer. The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group with a three-month follow-up period. The statistical population included all married women suffering from breast cancer who were referred to Inicito Cancer Center in Aburihan, Mehyar Charitable Institution, and Shahadai Hospital in Tehran in 2022. 40 people were randomly selected into two groups using a purposive sampling method. 20 people were placed. In this research, once a week, the experimental group received group counseling in the form of compassion-focused therapy during 8 sessions of 90 minutes. Data were collected using the Pain Perception Questionnaire (MGPQ, Melzak, 1975) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF, 2007). The results of mixed variance analysis with repeated measurement showed a difference between the pre-test and post-test stages (p<0.05) and follow-up pre-test (p<0.05) in the variable of social relations. , d =-6.46), and in the variable of emotional pain, the difference between the pre-test and post-test stage (p < 0.05) and pre-test and follow-up (p < 0.05) significant was reported. According to the findings of the present research, it seems that the role of group counseling as a treatment focused on compassion should be paid attention to in improving social relationships and reducing emotional pain in women with breast cancer.