Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy on loneliness and Rumination in Women with Premenstrual Syndrome

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of compassion-focused group therapy on rumination and loneliness in women with premenstrual syndrome. The research method was semi-experimental with pretest-posttest and control group design. The research population consisted of all women referred to a maternity ward of Mashhad during the first six months of the year 2018. 115 cases were selected by sampling. They were assigned to Staner's Premenstrual Screening Questionnaire (2003). Thirty women who were diagnosed with premenstrual syndrome disorder were selected based on this questionnaire and were randomly assigned to the same experimental and control groups. Participants in the experimental group received a program focused on compassion in eight 90-minute sessions (one week's session); the control group was placed on the waiting list. Data collection was done by Nulen-Hauksima and colleagues (1991), and social and emotional loneliness of adults (Diltomaso & et al., 2004). To analyze the data, multivariate analysis of covariance analysis was used. The findings of this study showed that by controlling the effect of pre-test, there was a significant difference between the mean post-test scores of the experimental and control groups in ruminant variables, loneliness and its components: romantic loneliness, family loneliness, and loneliness has it. The results show that the use of compassionate therapy techniques is effective in reducing the symptoms of rumination and loneliness in women with premenstrual syndrome.