Comparison of the Effectiveness of Short-Term Psychodynamic Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Improving Emotion Regulation Strategies in Mothers of Adolescents with Congenital Heart Disease
Keywords:
Short-term psychodynamic therapy , Cognitive behavioral therapy, Emotion regulation strategies, Mothers, Congenital heart disease.Abstract
Objective: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of short-term psychodynamic therapy (STPT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on improving cognitive emotion regulation strategies among mothers of adolescents with congenital heart disease.
Methods and Materials: This study was conducted as a randomized controlled trial with three groups: STPT (n = 15), CBT (n = 15), and a control group (n = 15), recruited from pediatric cardiology centers in Tehran. Participants were assessed at three time points (pretest, posttest, and five-month follow-up) using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). The interventions consisted of ten weekly 60-minute sessions delivered by trained psychotherapists. Data analysis was performed with repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Bonferroni-adjusted post-hoc comparisons using SPSS-27.
Findings: The repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant main effects of time and group, as well as significant time × group interactions across all nine CERQ strategies. Both STPT and CBT groups demonstrated significant increases in adaptive strategies, including acceptance, positive refocusing, refocus on planning, positive reappraisal, and putting into perspective (all ps < .001, η² range = .61–.66), along with significant reductions in maladaptive strategies such as self-blame, rumination, catastrophizing, and blaming others (all ps < .001, η² range = .59–.62). Post-hoc tests indicated that both intervention groups significantly outperformed the control group on all strategies (all ps < .001), while no significant differences were found between STPT and CBT (all ps > .68). Improvements were largely maintained at the five-month follow-up, indicating sustained therapeutic effects.
Conclusion: These results highlight the clinical value of implementing structured psychotherapeutic interventions for caregiver populations under chronic emotional stress.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Mehdi Ebrahimkhani , Negin Habibi, Shokofe Iranpour, Zahra Rezai, Nazanin Ghorbanzadeh (Author); Abolghasem Yaghoobi (Corresponding Author)
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