The effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy on anxiety caused by romantic breakup: Single case

نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی

نویسندگان

1 M.A family counsellor, Department of Family Counselling, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

2 Professor, Department of Counseling, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

چکیده

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) on anxiety caused by romantic breaking up in young girls.
 Materials and Methods: In this study conducted in 2021 in Isfahan, Iran, three female participants with the experience of breaking up a romantic relationship were selected by the convenient sampling method. They underwent individual compassion-focused therapy during eight 90-minute sessions. Participants fulfilled Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Love Trauma Inventory (LTI) and the Minnesota Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MMPI 2-RF). The data were analyzed by baseline change index, visual mapping, and recovery percentage formula.
 Results: In the post-treatment and follow-up stages, the improvement rate in the anxiety variable was 53% and 58% in the first, 63% and 75% in the second, and 36% and 18% in the third participants, respectively. Thus, the overall recovery rate for all three participants was 50%, indicating treatment success.
 Conclusion: It can be concluded that compassion-focused therapy enhances the relief system, which is associated with feelings of calm, satisfaction, and security, and helps people relax in time and humiliate their inner conversation. Hostility changes into warmth and friendliness, and all of these factors reduce people's anxiety.

کلیدواژه‌ها


  1. Baumeister RF, Leary MR. The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Interpers Dev 2017; 117(3): 57-89.
  2. Van Damme M. Overcrowded housing and relationship break-up. Eur J Popul 2020; 36(1): 119-39.
  3. Serjoie A. Examining the relationship between participation in youth leadership development and leadership styles of undergraduate college student leaders. Colorado: Colorado State University; 2019.
  4. Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D. Treatment of anxiety disorders. Dialogues Clin Neurosci 2022; 19(2): 93-107.
  5. Thibaut F. Anxiety disorders: A review of current literature. Dialogues Clin Neurosci 2022; 19(2): 87-88.
  6. Verhallen AM, Renken RJ, Marsman J-BC, Ter Horst GJ. Romantic relationship breakup: An experimental model to study effects of stress on depression (-like) symptoms. PLoS One 2019; 14(5): e0217320.
  7. Field T. Romantic breakup distress in university students: A narrative review. Int J Psychol Res Rev 2020; 3: 30.
  8. Luo Y, Meng R, Li J, Liu B, Cao X, Ge W. Self-compassion may reduce anxiety and depression in nursing students: a pathway through perceived stress. Public Health 2019; 174: 1-10.
  9. Gilbert P. The origins and nature of compassion-focused therapy. Br J Clin Psychol 2014; 53(1): 6-41.
  10. Gilbert P. Compassion: From its evolution to psychotherapy. Front Psychol 2020; 11: 3123.
  11. Gilbert P, Irons C. Focused therapies and compassionate mind training for shame and self-attacking. In: Gilbert P. (editor). Compassion: Conceptualizations, research and use in psychotherapy. New York: Routledge; 2005: 263-325.
  12. Gilbert P. Compassion: Concepts, research and applications. OxfordshireUnited Kingdom: Taylor and Francis; 2017.
  13. Gilbert P. Explorations into the nature and function of compassion. Curr Opin Psychol 2019; 28: 108-14.
  14. Gilbert P, Catarino F, Duarte C, Matos M, Kolts R, Stubbs J, et al. The development of compassionate engagement and action scales for self and others. J Compassionate Health Care 2017; 4(1): 4.
  15. Shiralinia K, Cheldavi R, Amanelahi A. [The effectiveness of compassion-focused psychotherapy on depression and anxiety of divorced women]. Journal of clinical psychology 2018; 10(1): 9-20. (Persian)
  16. Taher Pour M, Sohrabi A, Zemestani M. [Effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy on depression, anxiety, stress, and weight self-efficacy in patients with an eating disorder]. Journal of Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences 2019; 26(4): 505-13. (Persian)
  17. O’Driscoll D, McAleese M. The feasibility and effectiveness of compassionate mind training as a test anxiety intervention for adolescents: A preliminary investigation. Couns Psychother Res 2022; 22(2): 301-10.
  18. Brito-Pons G, Campos D, Cebolla A. Implicit or explicit compassion? Effects of compassion cultivation training and comparison with mindfulness-based stress reduction. Mindfulness 2018; 9(5): 1494-508.
  19. Trindade IA, Sirois FM. The prospective effects of self-compassion on depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress: A study in inflammatory bowel disease. J Psychosom Res 2021; 146: 110429.
  20. Soltani M, Fatehizade MA. The effectiveness of compassion focused therapy on depression and rumination after romantic relationship breakup: A single case study. Clinical psychology studies 2020; 10: 63-90.
  21. Soltani M, Fatehizadeh M. [The effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy on post-traumatic growth after the romantic breakup (single case)]. Journal of family psychology 2022; 1: 1-16. (Persian)
  22. Kirby JN, Tellegen CL, Steindl SR. A meta-analysis of compassion-based interventions: Current state of knowledge and future directions. Behav Ther 2017; 48(6): 778-92.
  23. Karaminezhad Z, Sodani M. [Effectiveness emotion-focused therapy approach on cognitive emotion regulation on emotional breakdown girl students]. Yafteh 2017; 18(4): 79-86. (Persian)
  24. Akbari F, Aref M. [Effectiveness of rational emotive behavior therapy, logotherapy-based group counseling, and their combination on the treatment of grief caused by adolescent girls’ love trauma]. Pajouhan scientific journal 2021; 19(2): 1-9. (Persian)
  25. Farahani H, Abedi A, Aghamohammadi S, Kazmi Z. [Applied principles of individual case studies in behavioral sciences and medical research]. Tehran: Psychology and Art; 2018. (Persian)
  26. Irons C, Beaumont E. The compassionate mind workbook. A step-by-step guide to developing your compassionate self. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Robinson; 2018: 400.
  27. Rosse R. The love trauma syndrome: Free yourself from the pain of a broken. New York: Perseus; 1999.
  28. Dehghani M, Atef-Vahid M-K, Gharaee B. Efficacy of short-term anxiety-regulating psychotherapy on love trauma syndrome. Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci 2011; 5(2): 18-25.
  29. Archer EM, Hagan LD, Mason J, Handel R, Archer RP. MMPI-2-RF characteristics of custody evaluation litigants. Assessment 2011; 19(1): 14-20.
  30. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. Washington, DC; American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
  31. Ben-Porath YS, Tellegen A. Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory-2 restructured form: MMPI-2-RF: University of Minnesota; 2008.
  32. Tarescavage AM, Corey DM, Ben-Porath YS. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) predictors of police officer problem behavior. Assessment 2015; 22(1): 116-32.
  33. Kamkari K, Shokrzadeh SH. [Assessment of personality traits (with emphasis on the reconstructed form of the Minnesota Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire-2)]. 1st ed. Tehran: Islamic Azad University Science and Research Branch; 2016. (Persian)
  34. Beck AT, Steer RA. Manual for the Beck anxiety inventory. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation; 1990.
  35. Rafei M, Seyfi A. [An investigation into the reliability and validity of Beck Anxiety Inventory among the university students]. Thoughts and behavior in clinical psychology 2013; 8: 37-46. (Persian)
  36. Blanchard EB, Schwarz SP. Clinically significant changes in behavioral medicine. Behav Assess 1988; 10(2): 171-88.
  37. Ahmadi R, Sajjadian I, Jaffari F. The effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy on anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts in women with vitiligo. Dermatology and cosmetic 2019; 10(1): 18-29. (Persian)
  38. Yela JR, Gómez-Martínez MÁ, Crego A, Jiménez L. Effects of the mindful self-compassion program on clinical and health psychology trainees’ well-being: A pilot study. Clin Psychol (Aust Psychol Soc) 2020; 24(1): 41-54.
  39. Lo HH, Ng SM, Chan CL. Evaluating compassion-mindfulness therapy for recurrent anxiety and depression: A randomized control trial. Res Soc Work Pract 2015; 25(6): 715-25.
  40. Lopes AF, Martins Silva F. Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT). EFPT Psychotherapy Guidebook. 2nd ed. 2020: 11. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21428/fc0b32aa.3296abfc
  41. Gilbert P, Chris I. Compassion focused therapy. The beginner’s guide to counselling and psychotherapy. 55th ed. London: SAGE; 2015: 127-39.
  42. Petrocchi N, Cheli S. The social brain and heart rate variability: Implications for psychotherapy. Psychology and psychotherapy: Theory, research and practice 2019; 92(2): 208-23.