Comparison of the Impact of Self-Compassion-Focused Therapy and Metacognitive Therapy on Depression Symptoms and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation in Depressed Armed Forces Personnel

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

2 PhD Candidate in Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran

3 Master of Psychometrics, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

4 PhD Candidate in General Psychology, Saveh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Saveh, Iran

Abstract

< p >Introduction: Depression is one of the most common types of mental disorders that makes people refer to psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health professionals. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of self-compassion-focused therapy and metacognitive therapy on reducing depression symptoms and difficulties in regulating emotions in the armed forces personnel suffering from depression.
< p >Method: In a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test and a control group, 45 armed forces personnel referring to the psychiatric wards of Imam Hossein Hospital and Boali Hospital in Tehran were purposively selected and randomly assigned to two experimental groups and a control group. The first experimental group (n = 15) received group meta-cognitive therapy and the second experimental group (n = 15) received group self-compassion therapy. Participants completed a depression questionnaire and a difficulty in emotion regulation questionnaire in pre-test, post-test and one-month follow-up stages, and the data were analyzed using a multivariate repeated measures model.
< p >Results: The results showed that there was a significant difference in the rates of depression and difficulty in emotion regulation in the three groups, and the comparison of means indicated that the self-compassion-focused therapy was more effective than the metacognitive therapy.
< p >Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that self-compassion-focused therapy can improve emotional disorders and emotion regulation in the armed forces personnel suffering from depression, and it can be a selective method for improving depression and emotion regulation in these individuals.

Keywords

References

  1. ایمانی، مهدی؛ زمستانی، مهدی و کریمی، جواد (1396)، نقش اختلالات روان‌پزشکی، کارکرد خانواده و عوامل شغلی بر رفتارهای خود آسیب‌رسان با میانجی‌گری افسردگی در بین کارکنان ارتش شهر شیراز، مجله طب نظامی، ۱۹ (۶): ۶۲۴ ـ ۶۳۳.
  2. رحمانی، جمال؛ یکانی‌نژاد، میرسعید و درستی مطلق، احمدرضا (1396)، نقش تنوع غذایی، چربی بدن و سبک زندگی قبلی در عزت‌نفس و وضعیت افسردگی در دوره آموزشی خدمت سربازی، مجله علوم پزشکی رازی، ۲۴ (۱۶۰): ۴۸ ـ ۶۱.
  3. AlHaisoni, M. S., Afifi, A., Kofi, M., & AlHaisoni, M. S. (2019). Prevalence of Paternal Postpartum Depression among Fathers Visiting Well-Baby Clinic at Prince Sultan Military Medical City 2018. International Journal, 2(4), 486.
  4. Barr, N., Keeling, M., & Castro, C. (2019). Associations between Mindfulness, PTSD, and Depression in Combat Deployed Post-9/11 Military Veterans. Mindfulness, 10(11), 2403-2414.
  5. Bayir, A., & Lomas, T. (2016). Difficulties generating self-compassion: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. The Journal of Happiness & Well-Being, 4(1), 15-33.
  6. Belsher, B. E., Jaycox, L. H., Freed, M. C., Evatt, D. P., Liu, X., Novak, L. A., & Engel, C. C. (2016). Mental health utilization patterns during a stepped, collaborative care effectiveness trial for PTSD and depression in the military health system. Medical Care, 54(7), 706-713.
  7. Campbell, I. N., Gallagher, M., McLeod, H. J., O’Neill, B., & McMillan, T. M. (2019). Brief compassion focused imagery for treatment of severe head injury. Neuropsychological rehabilitation, 29(6), 917-927.
  8. Chou, C. Y., Tsoh, J. Y., Shumway, M., Smith, L. C., Chan, J., Delucchi, K., & Mathews, C. A. (2020). Treating hoarding disorder with compassion‐focused therapy: A pilot study examining treatment feasibility, acceptability, and exploring treatment effects. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 59(1), 1-21.
  9. Cowles, M., Randle-Phillips, C., & Medley, A. (2018). Compassion-focused therapy for trauma in people with intellectual disabilities: A conceptual review. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 1744629518773843.
  10. Dammen, T., Papageorgiou, C., & Wells, A. (2016). A two year follow up study of group metacognitive therapy for depression in Norway. J. Dep. Anxiety, 5(227), 2167-1044.
  11. Elhai, J. D., Tiamiyu, M. F., Weeks, J. W., Levine, J. C., Picard, K. J., & Hall, B. J. (2018). Depression and emotion regulation predict objective smartphone use measured over one week. Personality and Individual Differences, 133, 21-28.

10. Frostadottir, A. D., & Dorjee, D. (2019). Effects of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) on Symptom Change, Mindfulness, Self-Compassion and Rumination in Clients with Depression, Anxiety and Stress. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1099.

11. Gratz, K. L., & Roemer, L. (2004). Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: Development, factor structure, and initial validation of the difficulties in emotion regulation scale. Journal of psychopathology and behavioral assessment, 26(1), 41-54.

12. Hagen, R., Hjemdal, O., Solem, S., Kennair, L. E. O., Nordahl, H. M., Fisher, P., & Wells, A. (2017). Metacognitive therapy for depression in adults: a waiting list randomized controlled trial with six months follow-up. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 31.

13. Hohl-Radke, F., Leutheusser, G., Reimann, I., Koch, M., & Zimmermann, P. (2019). Personality Disorders and Value Orientation as Predictors for Male Depression in Military and Civilian Patients. Psychiatrische Praxis, 46(7), 394-398.

14. Hsieh, C. C., Yu, C. J., Chen, H. J., Chen, Y. W., Chang, N. T., & Hsiao, F. H. (2019). Dispositional mindfulness, self‐compassion, and compassion from others as moderators between stress and depression in caregivers of patients with lung cancer. Psycho‐oncology, 28(7), 1498-1505.

15. Joormann, J., & Stanton, C. H. (2016). Examining emotion regulation in depression: A review and future directions. Behaviour research and therapy, 86, 35-49.

16. Kennedy, J. E., Lu, L. H., Reid, M. W., Leal, F. O., & Cooper, D. B. (2019). Correlates of depression in US Military service members with a history of mild traumatic brain injury. Military medicine, 184(Supplement_1), 148-154.

17. Loeffler, L. A. K., Satterthwaite, T. D., Habel, U., Schneider, F., Radke, S., & Derntl, B. (2019). Attention control and its emotion-specific association with cognitive emotion regulation in depression. Brain imaging and behavior, 13(6), 1766-1779.

18. Manee, F. M. (2014). Emotion dysregulation in individuals with risky sexual behaviors and normal people. Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (JMUMS), 23(109), 212-221.

19. Melchior, K., Franken, I., Deen, M., & van der Heiden, C. (2019). Metacognitive therapy versus exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 20(1), 277.

20. Muris, P., Meesters, C., Pierik, A., & de Kock, B. (2016). Good for the self: Self-compassion and other self-related constructs in relation to symptoms of anxiety and depression in non-clinical youths. Journal of child and family studies, 25(2), 607-617.

21. Nyström, M. (2018). Affect school, Virya yoga, and compassion-focused therapy: A pilot study of an integrative group treatment, depression and anxiety. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology (JSEP), 40, S110-S111.

22. Ozdemir, B., & Seef, N. (2017). Examining the Factors of Self-Compassion Scale with Canonical Commonality Analysis: Syrian Sample. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 70, 19-36.

23. Pugach, C. P., Campbell, A. A., & Wisco, B. E. (2020). Emotion regulation in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Rumination accounts for the association between emotion regulation difficulties and PTSD severity. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 76(3), 508-525.

24. Rahmani, J., Yekaninejad, M., & Dorosty Motlagh, A. (2017). The relationship between dietary diversity, body fat and previous lifestyle with depression and self-esteem in training military service. Razi Journal of Medical Sciences, 24(160), 48-61.

25. Roberts, A. A., Nworka, C. M., Oluwole, E. O., & Oridota, E. S. (2018). Post-partum Depression in Mothers of Children under 2 years in Military Barracks in Lagos, Nigeria.

26. Sartang, A. G., Ashnagar, M., Habibi, E., & Sadeghi, S. (2018). Investigation effect of shift work on job burnout and depression, anxiety, stress scale in military personnel. Iranian journal of health, safety and environment, 5(3), 1077-1081.

27. Sloan, E., Hall, K., Moulding, R., Bryce, S., Mildred, H., & Staiger, P. K. (2017). Emotion regulation as a transdiagnostic treatment construct across anxiety, depression, substance, eating and borderline personality disorders: A systematic review. Clinical psychology review, 57, 141-163.

28. Vindbjerg, E., Makransky, G., Mortensen, E. L., & Carlsson, J. (2019). Cross-cultural psychometric properties of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 64(1), 39-46.

29. Vrabel, K. R., Wampold, B. E., Quintana, D. S., Goss, K., Waller, G., & Hoffart, A. (2019). The Modum-ED Trial Protocol: Comparing Compassion-Focused Therapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Treatment of Eating Disorders With and Without Childhood Trauma: Protocol of a Randomized Trial. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1638.

30. Wenn, J. A., O’Connor, M., Kane, R. T., Rees, C. S., & Breen, L. J. (2019). A pilot randomised controlled trial of metacognitive therapy for prolonged grief. BMJ open, 9(1), bmjopen-2017.

Military Psychology
Volume 11, Issue 44
Winter Quarterly
March 2021
Pages 5-16

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 10 March 2020
  • Revise Date: 06 July 2020
  • Accept Date: 03 October 2020

Share

How to cite

Statistics