The effectiveness of spiritual therapy on self-esteem and emotion regulation in women with weight management disorder

Abstract

Objective: The current research aimed to examine the effectiveness of spiritual therapy on self-esteem and emotion regulation in women with weight management disorder. Methods and Materials: This study was a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up with a control group. The population of this research included all women attending weight loss clinics in the city of Yazd in the year 2023. The sample consisted of 30 women from these clinics. Sampling was purposive and randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. Data were collected using the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Scale (1981) and Gratz and Roemer's (2004) Emotion Regulation scale. Cognitive therapy based on John Big's (2015) multidimensional spiritual treatment protocol was conducted in 12 sessions of 90 minutes each, once a week; however, the control group did not receive any intervention. Data analysis was performed using a mixed-design ANOVA with repeated measures in SPSS-26. Findings: The findings indicated that spiritual therapy significantly impacts self-esteem (F=16.95, P<0.001) and emotion regulation (F=16.95, P<0.001) in women with weight disorder. Conclusion: It can be concluded that spiritual therapy is effective in improving self-esteem and emotion regulation in women with weight management disorder. Therefore, these approaches can be used alongside medical interventions in treatment centers.