Comparison of the Effectiveness of Schema Therapy and Integrated Cognitive-Speech Approach in Emotional Regulation, and Distress Tolerance of Individuals Suffering from Stuttering

Numerous approaches, including schema therapy, and an integrated cognitive-speech approach, have been suggested to reduce emotions and increase distress tolerance in people with stuttering. The present study aimed to make a comparison between the effectiveness of schema therapy and integrated cognitive-speech approach in emotional regulation and distress tolerance of individuals suffering from stuttering.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted based on a pre-test, post-test design, and a follow-up test with a control group. The statistical population included all individuals aged 18-30 who suffered from stuttering in Sabzevar city. The sample consisted of 30 people who were selected via convenience sampling and were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group (n=10 in each group). The experimental schema therapy group underwent treatment in 12 90-minute sessions, the integrated cognitive-speech approach group received 12 60-minute sessions of treatment, and the control group received no treatments. The instruments of the research were Gross and John (2003) Emotional Regulation Questionnaire, and Simons and Gaher (2005) Distress Tolerance Questionnaire. These instruments were conducted on three groups in all phases of pre-testing and post-testing and follow-up. The one-way repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey post hoc test were used to analyze the data.

As evidenced by the obtained results, the schema therapy and integrated cognitive-speech approach had a significant effect on emotional regulation and distress tolerance of individuals suffering from stuttering(P<0.05).

The results of the present study indicated that none of the treatments outperformed the other ones; nonetheless, the integrated cognitive-speech approach was more effective in distress tolerance index.