Comparing the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy and schema therapy on psychosomatic symptoms in people with physical illnesses

This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy and schema therapy on psychosomatic symptoms in people with physical diseases. The present study was a semi-experimental design with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group. The statistical population of the research included all women suffering from physical diseases(cardiovascular, digestive, and neurological) with psychosomatic symptoms referred to two government centers affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in the first three months of 2023, of which 36 people (12 people in the treatment group) focused on compassion, 12 people in the schema therapy group and 12 people in the control group) were selected by purposive sampling and randomly replaced in three groups. The measurement tool in this study was the Psychosomatic Complaint Scale (PCS; Takata & Sakata, 2004). Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) and schema therapy (ST) were each administered in 10 sessions of 120 minutes as a group, but the contra group did not receive any intervention. Data analysis was done using univariate analysis of the covariance test. The results showed that both treatments were effective in reducing psychosomatic symptoms, but there was no significant difference between the two treatments (P<0.05). In general, it can be concluded that both treatments have been effective in reducing the psychosomatic symptoms of physical patients; Based on this, it is suggested to implement these treatments in similar situations.