Comparing the Effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Anxiety in Women with Breast Cancer and Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Student, Department of Psychology, Ar.C., Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran

2 Department of Psychology, And.C., Islamic Azad University, Andimeshk, Iran

3 Department of Psychology, Ar.C., Isamic Azad University, Arak, Iran

10.22034/jmpr.2026.69266.6825

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and emotion-focused therapy on anxiety in women with breast cancer and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. The research method was a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest design and a control group with a two-month follow-up period. The statistical population of the study included women with breast cancer and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder who had referred to hospitals in Tehran in 2025 for follow-up treatment. The sample size consisted of 45 people (15 people in each group) who were selected using convenience sampling and randomly assigned to three groups. The research instruments included the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire (PCL-5) by Ders et al. (1993) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) by Beck and Steer (1990). The mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and emotion-focused therapy group received 8 sessions of approximately 2 hours of intervention. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 25 software using repeated measures analysis of variance. The results showed that both interventions had a significant effect on anxiety (p<0.001). The results of the Bonferroni post hoc test showed that emotion-focused therapy had a greater effect (p<0.05). It can be concluded that in addition to the effectiveness of both treatments, emotion-focused therapy is preferable in treating anxiety in women with breast cancer and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Keywords

Main Subjects


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Volume 21, Issue 81
May 2026
Pages 179-192
  • Receive Date: 21 September 2025
  • Revise Date: 30 December 2025
  • Accept Date: 30 January 2026