The Effectiveness of Group Therapy Based on Emotional Schema Therapy on Anxiety and emotional schemas on Women with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

The purpose of this study is investigating the efficacy of group therapy based on emotional schema therapy on anxiety and emotional schemas of women with generalized anxiety disorder.

This study is a quasi-experimental study of pretest-posttest type with control group. Statistical population is all 20- to 35-year women with generalized anxiety disorder who referred to psychological clinic of ferdowsi university of Mashhad city. With convenience and purposive sampling, 20 people were selected based on structured clinical interview for DSM-IV (SCID) and admittance criteria and divided into two experimental and control groups randomly. Experimental group received group therapy based on emotional schema therapy during 10 sessions and control groups were placed in waiting list. Members of two groups completed the Leahy emotional schemas scale and Beck’s anxiety inventory before and after the treatment. Covariance analysis was used for data analysis.

Results showed that group therapy based on emotional schema therapy led to significant decrease in anxiety scores, significant increase in the application of all compatible emotional schemes and significant decrease in the application of incompatible emotional schemes of guilt, simplicity, rationality, duration, blaming, and rumination in experimental group compared with control one.