Effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy on death anxiety and quality of life among women with multiple sclerosis

Background: Because multiple sclerosis (MS) affects both the body and the mind, in addition to pharmacological and physiological interventions, psychological interventions should be considered in the treatment of these patients. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy on death anxiety and quality of life in women with multiple sclerosis. Materials and methods: This study was a semi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test control group design. This study consisted of all women with MS in Esfahan who were members of the MS Society in 2019. In total, 30 women were selected and randomly divided into two groups by a purposive sampling method. Members of the experimental group received their treatment in eight sessions of 1.5 hours; however, the control group did not receive any treatment. Data were analyzed using ANOVA with repeated measures. Results: In the pre-test, mean and standard deviation of death anxiety score and quality of life were not significantly different in the experimental and control groups (p>0.05). Compassion-focused therapy reduced patients' death anxiety post-test, and increased their quality of life (p<0.001). At the follow-up stage, the effect of this treatment was lasting (p<0.001). Conclusion: Compassion-focused therapy can reduce death anxiety and thus better cope with the disease and increase the quality of life of women with MS.