Effectiveness Of Emotion-Focused Therapy Research Articles

Comparing the effectiveness of emotion-focused and cognitive-behavioral therapies on body image, anxiety, and depression in women with PCOS.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous disease that is usually seen in women of reproductive age and causes complications such as body image dissatisfaction, anxiety, and depression. This study was done with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy (EFT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on body image, anxiety, and depression in women with PCOS. This research was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design with control and follow-up groups. The statistical population included all women with PCOS who were referred to the infertility clinic of Afzalipur Hospital in Kerman in 2022. A total of 45 patients were selected as a sample using the convenience sampling method and then they were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (15 people each) and a control group (15 people). After the pre-test, the experimental groups were subjected to the interventions of EFT and CBT, and afterward the post-test was performed. Cash et al., body image questionnaire, and Beck anxiety and depression questionnaires were used. Data were analyzed using PSS21 software and analysis of variance. The findings revealed that the effectiveness of EFT and CBT on body image, anxiety, and depression is significant (P < 0.05). The comparison of the two therapy showed that the effect of CBT on body image, anxiety, and depression is more than EFT. Moreover, there was no statistically significant difference between the post-test and follow-up scores (P > 0.05). According to the results, CBT can reduce dissatisfaction with body image, anxiety, and depression in women with PCOS, therefore it is recommended to use this therapy.

The Effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Therapy on Rumination, Alexithymia, and Sleep Quality in Woman with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Aim and Background: Irritable bowel syndrome is related to chronic psychological factors; therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of emotion-focused treatment on rumination, ataxia, and sleep quality in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Methods and Materials: The research method was semi-experimental, with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group and a three-month follow-up phase. Its statistical population included all women with irritable bowel syndrome who referred to government medical centers in Kerman city in 1400. For this purpose, according to the entry and exit criteria, 30 of them were selected using available sampling method and were replaced by random method in two experimental and control groups. At first, a pre-test was taken from both groups. Then, emotional therapy training was implemented for the experimental group and no intervention was done for the control group. Hoeksma and Maro rumination scale (1991), sleep quality questionnaire and Toronto Emotional Narrative Questionnaire were used to collect data. The research data were analyzed using mixed variance analysis. Findings: The results showed that the mean rumination and alexithymia of the experimental group in the post-test and follow-up stages had a significant decrease compared to the pre-test stage. In addition, the difference between the post-test and follow-up phase is not significant; Also, the average sleep disorder of the experimental group has decreased significantly in the post-test and follow-up stages compared to the pre-test stage. The difference between the post-test and follow-up phase was significant, which indicates a significant increase in sleep disorder in the follow-up phase compared to the post-test phase. Conclusions: According to the findings of the research, it can be said that emotional therapy can have a significant effect on the research variables, and the effect of the treatment was also significant in the follow-up period, especially for sleep disorders; However, the treatment effect was reserved for two other variables in the follow-up period.

Investigating the Effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Therapy on Perceived Stress and Alexithymia in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease in Rasht City, Iran

Background Coronary heart disease is one of the most common diseases that can affect the mental and bodily health of people. Objective This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy (EFT) on perceived stress and alexithymia in patients with coronary heart disease. Methods This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group in 2019 on 30 patients diagnosed with coronary heart disease who were referred to Dr. Heshmat Hospital in Rasht City, Iran. The patients were selected by simple random sampling and assigned to 2 groups of 15, including an experimental group and a control group. The assessment tools included the 14-item perceived stress scale (PSS-14) and the 20-item Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS-20), which were completed before and after the intervention. The experimental group received EFT in eight 90-min sessions for two months. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis of covariance and the Bonferroni post hoc test. Results There was a significant difference between the experimental group that underwent EFT and the control group that did not receive any treatment (F2, 25= 170.5, P&lt;0.001, η2P=0.932). Meanwhile, according to the adjusted means, this difference indicates the effectiveness of EFT. Conclusion EFT training can play an important role as an adjunctive and psychological treatment along with drug intervention in reducing the perceived stress and alexithymia.

The effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy on the dark triangle of personality, high-risk sexual behaviors, and behavioral activation / inhibitory brain systems (BAS / BIS) in adolescents

The effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy on the dark triangle of personality, high-risk sexual behaviors, and behavioral activation / inhibitory brain systems (BAS / BIS) in adolescents

Efficacy of emotion-focused therapy in the treatment of eating disorders: A systematic review.

The high incidence of eating disorders (EDs) means that its treatment is approached from various perspectives, among which we find emotion-focused therapy (EFT). Therefore, the main objective of this systematic review was to know the effectiveness of EFT for eating disorders. A systematic review of PubMed, the Cochrane Library and the Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection was carried out without a time limit and in a population with an eating disorder diagnosis. Eight studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria: (1) six studies treated the population with binge eating disorder (BED) five were group treatments, and four included the combined modality; (2) one with BED, bulimia nervosa (BN) and Eating Disorder No Otherwise Specified (EDNOS); and (3) one for a single case of anorexia nervosa (AN). The duration of treatments ranged from 12 weeks to 18 months, and all studies used the original EFT protocol. Specific variables of each type of eating disorder were studied, as well as comorbid symptoms. It seems that the results coincide in the existence of post-treatment improvements both in eating psychopathology and in affective symptoms, although with variable data during follow-up. More research is needed to affirm the efficacy of EFT as an empirically validated treatment for EDs.

The effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Therapy: A systematic review of experimental studies

Objective. The methodology of a systematic review of studies verifying the efficacy of the intervention in the treatment of mental disorders helps to reduce bias by using explicit and rigorous methods for literature search and critical evaluation of previous studies. Up to now, no systematic review has been conducted on the efficacy of individual emotion focused therapy (EFT), despite the growing number of research findings examining the efficacy of EFT. The aim of this systematic review is therefore to evaluate the efficacy of an individual form of EFT in the treatment of mental problems and disorders.Method. In this study, the authors followed the PRISMA methodological manual. A systematic literature search was performed in the EBSCO, PubMed, and Web of Science databases. The analysis was focused on assessing the magnitude of the effect of pre-post therapeutic changes, the sustainability of change within follow-up, or comparing the effect of change with another psychotherapeutic approach by evaluating the statistical and material significance of changes (effect size).Results. The authors identified seven studies that used a (quasi) experimental method to investigate the efficacy of EFT. The results support the efficacy of EFT as well as the sustainability of change in the treatment of depression. There is preliminary support for the efficacy of EFT in the treatment of social anxiety, trauma, and eating disorders. So far, in the case of the above-mentioned disorders and difficulties, it is possible to consider EFT as probably effective.Limitations. Only studies written in English were selected in this systematic review. Case studies were not included.

Comparison of the Effectiveness of Contextual Therapy fair- centered and Emotion-Focused Therapy on Marital Intimacy and Marital Burnout among Couples

The aim of the present study was to compare and evaluate the effectiveness of Contextual Therapy fair-centered (CT) (based on Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy) and Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) on increasing Marital Intimacy and reducing Marital Burnout in couples. The method was semi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population included all couples who in 2017-2018 referred to the Sanam private office of counseling and psychological services (under the supervision of the Psychology and Counseling Organization of Iran) in the city of Urmia. Among them, 24 couples who have referred to this center due to marital conflicts, after matching the subjects and the criteria for entering and leaving the research, were purposefully selected and randomly assigned to three groups (Eight pairs in each group), which are two experimental groups and one control group. After performing the pretest, the Contextual Therapy group were performed 10 sessions and Emotion-Focused Therapy was 9 for each pair. The questionnaires used included Walker and Thompson's intimacy scale and Pines 's Burnout Scale. To analyze the data and hypotheses, the statistical test method of “repeated measurement variance analysis” and SPSS software were used. Findings showed that the effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Therapy in increasing intimacy was significantly (p &lt; 0.001) than the Contextual. But there is no significant difference between the two approaches in reducing “marital boredom”, Also, the findings showed that, over time, the effectiveness of the Contextual Therapy approach to the Emotion-Focused Therapy in “marital burnout” is more stable. Conclusion: In comparison Emotion-Focused Therapy a more effective effect in increasing intimacy and the effectiveness of the two approaches in reducing marital burnout is the same,but in the long run, the Contextual approach has shown better therapeutic stability in improving Marital burnout.

Comparing the Effectiveness of emotion focused therapy with compassion Focused therapy on sleep quality and irrational beliefs in patients with early headache symptoms

Background: Primary headache, as one of the most pervasive pain disorders, has drawn attention to the welfare problems of patients with primary headache symptoms, especially regarding sleep quality and irrational beliefs. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy and compassion-focused therapies on sleep quality and irrational beliefs in patients with primary headache symptoms. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest control group design. The sample consisted of 45 patients with primary headache symptoms referring to the neurology clinic of Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital in Tehran, Iran. The samples were selected using the purposive sampling method and randomly divided into two experimental groups and one control group (n=15 each). The experimental groups underwent emotion-focused and compassion-focused therapies. Results: The results showed that there was a significant difference between research groups in the post-test stage regarding sleep quality (F=17.04, df=2, and P&lt;0.01) and irrational beliefs (F=77.27, df=2, and P&lt;0.01). The results of the Bonferroni post hoc test showed that emotion-focused and compassion-focused therapies had a significant effect on sleep quality (P&lt;0.01) and irrational beliefs (P&lt;0.01). Conclusion: Based on the results, emotion-focused and compassion-focused therapies were two appropriate treatments to increase sleep quality and reduce irrational beliefs among patients with primary headache symptoms. Patients, by participating in group sessions of these two therapies, developed adaptive and positive coping strategies to control attacks and improve headache symptoms as much as possible.

New Developments in Emotion-Focused Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a highly complex, chronic, disabling and costly anxiety disorder. Although cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is effective for many patients, many others do not respond to CBT or remain considerably symptomatic at the end of treatment. Pharmacological effects are also modest. More empirically-supported treatment options are needed in order to increase patient access to effective treatment. Emotion-focused therapy (EFT) shows great promise in treating SAD effectively and is particularly suitable for treating SAD because pervasive emotional avoidance, difficulties with emotional differentiation, and high levels of self-criticism, which are central psychopathological processes in SAD, are also primary therapeutic targets in EFT. EFT is based on the assumption that the most efficient way to change a maladaptive emotion is not through reason or skill learning, but through the activation of other, more adaptive emotions. EFT aims to access shame-based emotional memories that underlie SAD, and transform them by exposing them to new adaptive emotional experiences, such as empowering assertive anger, grief, and self-compassion. In this paper, the core features of EFT for SAD are presented, as well as the EFT view of dysfunction in SAD and EFT change processes. Research findings regarding the effectiveness of EFT for SAD are presented together with initial findings regarding mechanisms of change occurring during treatment.

Effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Therapy in Reduction of Marital Violence and Improvement of Family Functioning: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background: The rise in marital violence has led to growing concern about people with this condition. Emotion-focused Therapy (EFT) is one of the well-established treatments that consider both family interaction and emotion in the creation of secure attachment. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of EFT in marital violence reduction and family functioning improvement. Methods: This study was conducted in 2018-2019 among married women with family problems referring to counseling centers in Tehran, Iran. We randomly allocated 32 women with a mean marriage age of 24.27 ± 6.18 years to EFT and control groups. Marital violence and family functioning were measured before and after EFT using a domestic violence questionnaire and the family assessment device scale constructed based on the McMaster Model of Family Functioning (MMFF). Emotion-focused group therapy was conducted in the intervention group for eight 90-min sessions. The control group was exposed to no intervention. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was utilized to evaluate the distribution of variables. We used the independent t-test, chi-square test, Friedman test, Mann-Whitney test, ANOVA, ANCOVA, and MANCOVA for data analysis. Results: Marital violence decreased significantly after the intervention (-11.25 vs. -1.62, P < 0.001). Moreover, family functioning improved after the intervention (6.25 vs. -1.69, P = 0.001) in the EFT group compared to the control group. Conclusions: The EFT was an effective intervention in this study. The findings implicate the significance of essential interventions for marital violence reduction and family functioning improvement.

The Effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Therapy on Emotion Regulation Styles and Severity of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Women With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

The Effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Therapy on Emotion Regulation Styles and Severity of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Women With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Treatment for Deliberate Self-Harm: Integrating Emotion-Focused Therapy

This article proposes that Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) can be effectively utilized as a treatment modality for deliberate self-harm or integrated with existing treatment approaches. A brief literature review examines evidence suggesting that attachment and emotion regulation are important etiological variables associated with deliberate self-harm. EFT addresses these variables by emphasizing the importance of the therapeutic relationship and assisting clients in the regulation and transformation of negative, maladaptive emotions. The article describes the basic tenets of EFT, comparing and contrasting this approach with therapeutic models most commonly used in the treatment of deliberate self-harm. Finally, it is recommended that future outcome research utilize randomized clinical trials to evaluate the effectiveness of EFT and compare it with other treatment modalities.