Comparing the effectiveness of schema therapy and compassion-focused therapy on forgiveness and ambiguity tolerance in divorce-seeking women

Introduction: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of schema therapy and compassion-focused therapy on forgiveness and ambiguity tolerance in divorce-seeking women. Materials and Methods: The statistical population of this study included all divorce-seeking women who referred to counseling centers in Neyshabur during the second three months of 2018-2019. Thirty six of these women were selected by convenience sampling and were randomly assigned into two experimental groups 1 and 2 (12 subjects) and one control group. The first experimental group underwent schema therapy for 12 sessions, the second experimental group received compassion-focused therapy during 8 ninety-minute sessions, while the control group was placed on the waiting list. Data were collected using Pollard and Anderson Family Forgiveness Scale (FFS) and McLean Ambiguity Tolerance Questionnaire. For data analysis, repeated measures ANOVA was applied. Results: The results demonstrated that since repeated measures ANOVA of calculated F (128.064) is less than the criterion F at the 0.05 level, both treatments were effective in the index of forgiveness (P= 0.534) and ambiguity tolerance (P= 0.783). Conclusion: The results suggest that schema therapy and compassion-focused therapy have a significant effect on the field of mental health such as forgiveness and ambiguity tolerance.