The Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy on Distress Tolerance and Feeling of Guilt in Mothers of Children with Physical-Motor Disability

Aim: The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy on distress tolerance and feeling of guilt in mothers of children with physical-motor disability. Methods: The quasi-experimental research method included pre-test and post-test, with control group. The statistical population of this study consisted of all mothers of children with physical disability who had received education in special schools in city of Saqez during the Persian year of 1398. For this purpose, 24 mothers of physically disabled children were selected from the exceptional schools by convenient sampling method and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (12 in each group). The experimental group received 10 sessions of intervention and no training was given to the control group. The instruments used in this study were the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) and the Test of Self-Conscious Affect (TOSCA-2), which were completed in the pre-test and post-test phases. Data were analyzed using covariance analysis. Findings: The findings of this study indicated that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in pre-test and post-test in scores of distress tolerance and feeling of guilt. According to these findings, compassion-focused therapy is effective in decreasing feeling of guilt and increasing distress tolerance of mothers of children with physical disability. Conclusion: The results showed that self-compassion, through providing positive experiences, increasing adaptation to stressful situations, and expressing empathy and sympathy can increase distress tolerance in individuals and reduce the level of guilt of mothers with children with disabilities.