The effect of compassion therapy on psychological toughness and suicidal thoughts suicidal thoughts in the elderly with depression

Reducing stubbornness in the face of mental problems and the possibility of suicide are among the common problems at the end of life. This research was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of compassion therapy on psychological toughness and suicidal thoughts in the elderly with depression in Kerman.

The research method was experimental and pre-test, post-test with a control group. The statistical population included all the elderly people of Kerman city in 2022, 30 elderly people (15 people of the experimental group and 15 people of the control group) were selected by the purposive sampling method. Data collection tools were Psychological Hardness (AHS) and Beck Suicidal Thoughts (BSSI) questionnaires. The intervention of compassion therapy techniques from Gilbert (2007) was performed on the experimental group and the control group did not receive any intervention. Data analysis was done with covariance analysis using SPSS version 25 software. The level of P less than 0.05 was considered significant.

The results of covariance analysis also showed that compassion therapy had an effect on psychological toughness and suicidal thoughts in the elderly with depression (P<0.01). The amount of this effect, based on the squared value of eta, was 48 percent on increasing psychological toughness and 39 percent on reducing suicidal thoughts.

Based on the research findings, compassion therapy can be used to reduce the psychological problems in the elderly with depression.