Comparing the Effectiveness of Existential Therapy and Group-Based Intensive Short-Term Psychodynamic Therapy on Emotional Processing and Guilt Feelings among Infertile Women
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Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of existential therapy and group-based intensive short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) in improving emotional processing and reducing guilt feelings among infertile women.
Methods and Materials: This quasi-experimental study used a pretest–posttest design with a three-month follow-up and a wait-list control group. The population included infertile women aged 35–40 years attending Milad Infertility Research and Treatment Center in Mashhad, Iran, in 2025. Twenty-four eligible women were selected through voluntary purposive sampling and randomly assigned to existential therapy, group-based ISTDP, or control groups, with eight participants in each group. Both intervention groups received eight weekly 90-minute group sessions, while the control group remained on the wait list. Emotional processing was assessed using the 25-item Emotional Processing Scale, and guilt was measured using the 45-item Guilt Inventory. Data were analyzed using mixed repeated-measures analysis and Bonferroni post hoc tests in SPSS version 26.
Findings: Existential therapy significantly improved emotional processing, F = 6.212, p = .026, η² = .307, and reduced guilt, F = 14.122, p = .002, η² = .502. ISTDP also significantly improved emotional processing, F = 9.799, p = .007, η² = .412, and reduced guilt, F = 31.858, p < .001, η² = .695. Both interventions differed significantly from the control group, but not from each other in emotional processing (p = 1.000) or guilt (p = .674). Gains were maintained at follow-up.
Conclusion: Both existential therapy and group-based ISTDP improved emotional processing and reduced guilt among infertile women, with no clear superiority between approaches.
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