Comparison of the Effectiveness of Self-Compassion Therapy and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Symptom Severity and Cognitive Biases in Individuals with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Related to the Civil War in Iraq

Ahmed  Radhi Khaleefah; Sajjad Basharpoor; Nader  Hajloo; Akbar  Atadokht

Authors

Ahmed Radhi Khaleefah PhD student, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Mohagheg Ardabili University, Ardabil, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5422-5422
Sajjad Basharpoor Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Mohaghegh Ardabili University, Ardabil, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2920-2605
Nader Hajloo Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Mohaghegh Ardabili University, Ardabil, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2935-7455
Akbar Atadokht Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Mohaghegh Ardabili University, Ardabil, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5538-9242

Keywords:

self-compassion therapy, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, symptom severity, cognitive bias, individuals with war-related posttraumatic stress disorder

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of self-compassion therapy and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) in reducing symptom severity and modifying cognitive biases among survivors of war in Iraq.

Methods and Materials: This experimental study employed a multi-group pretest–posttest design. A total of 60 individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to the Iraqi civil war were randomly assigned to two intervention groups (self-compassion therapy and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy) and one control group (waiting-list control). The research instruments included the Mississippi Scale for PTSD and the Davos Assessment of Cognitive Biases Scale. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and the Bonferroni post hoc test in SPSS version 26.

Findings: The results indicated that both interventions significantly reduced symptom severity and cognitive biases (p < .05). The Bonferroni post hoc test further showed that trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy was significantly more effective than self-compassion therapy (p < .05).

Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that both self-compassion therapy and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy significantly reduced symptom severity and cognitive biases in individuals with war-related PTSD, whereas no significant changes were observed in the control group. Furthermore, comparison of the two interventions indicated that trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy was more effective than self-compassion therapy in reducing both symptom severity and cognitive biases.

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