Schema therapy based on metaphorical-allegorical narrative training in therapeutic data retrieval of dysthymic patients

Dysthymic patients are fraught with the problem of therapeutic information retrieval. Schema therapy applies complex and theoretical concepts while working with the patients which leads to increasing the difficulty in data retrieval. A number of exhaustive research findings in cognitive sciences demonstrate the fundamental necessity of using symbolic and figurative language such as allegory and metaphor to provide both the therapist and patient with a more vivid and clear description of propositional a theoretical concepts. Hence, the present research aimed to employ schema therapy based on metaphorical-allegorical training to enhance the therapeutic outcomes through positively affecting the data retrieval. A total of 40 patients suffering from dysthymic disorder, were recruited through the administration of structured DSM-IV (SCID), using convenience sampling and subsequent to being qualified in accordance with therapeutic conditions, they underwent the treatment process. The study employed a pretest, post-test, follow-up design and the patients in the study received a five-month, twenty-session schema therapy based on conjunctive metaphorical-allegorical narrative training. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Young Schema Questionnaire Long Form (YSQ-LF) and Data Retrieval Scale designed and developed by Ghasem Zadeh were the research tools. The large positive treatment effects found in the schema therapy based on metaphorical-allegorical narrative training suggest that this treatment is more successful in approaching and minimizing the problem of memory retrieval as compared to classic schema therapy. For want of a better word, schema therapy based on conjunctive metaphorical-allegorical narrative training enables the patients to more easily recall the exchanged information throughout the therapeutic sessions.