Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy on Self-Control and Flexibility of Body Image in Obese Patients Volunteering for Sleeve and Gastric Bypass Surgery

Obesity is a complex problem that can be caused by a large number of biological, psychological and social factors. The study aimed to examine the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy on self-control and flexibility of body image in obese patients volunteering for sleeve and gastric bypass surgery.

Methods and Materials: 

The method of the study was semi-experimental with pretest, posttest, and follow-up with control group design. The research population included all obese patients who volunteered for sleeve and gastric bypass surgery referred to Tehran Obesity Treatment Center in 2020 and in the period from January to February. Among them, a 30-subject sample was selected by convenience sampling and were assigned randomly in tow groups (15 subjects in each group). The experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions two days a week of compassion-focused treatment intervention, and the control group were on the waiting list. Collecting the data were gathered Tanji et al.chr('39')s self-control questionnaire (2004) and Sands et al.chr('39')s body image flexibility questionnaire (2013). Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 24 and statistical test of analysis of variance with repeated measures.

The results of repeated measure ANOVA showed the subjects of experimental group, after receiving intervention, had better self-control and flexibility of body image than subjects of control group.

Therefore, it seems that compassion-focused therapy significantly increased self-control and flexibility of body image of obese patients. Theoretical and practical implications have been discussed in this article.