Effectiveness of Compassion Therapy on Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Background: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is one of the most prevalent post traumatic events. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of compassion therapy in improving the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Methods: The study population consisted of war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder referring to Ebnesina Hospital in Mashhad, Iran. 30 individuals of the population were selected by available method and randomly divided to experimental and control groups (15 people each). The experimental group received 8 compassion focused therapy and the control group did not receive any intervention. Dependent variables were measured in both pre-test and post-test. The Mississippi-Causal Stress Scale was used to measure the variable. Results: Data analysis using univariate analysis of covariance showed that by controlling for pre-test effects, compassion therapy had a significant effect on the improvement of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Conclusion: The present study showed that group compassion therapy reduces symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder by reducing the negative emotions and improving interpersonal relationships.