Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy on Treatment Adherence and Perceived Stress in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of compassion-focused therapy on Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) patients’ treatment adherence and perceived stress. It was a quasi-experimental study consisting of a pre-test, a post-test, a control group, and a two-month follow-up period. In 2019, the statistical population of the present study included IBS patients referred to Bandarabbas therapy centers and gastroenterologists. Using the available sampling technique, 32 IBS patients were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. During two and a half months, the experimental group received ten 75-minute sessions of compassion-focused therapy. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Adherence to Treatment Questionnaire (ATQ) were among the questionnaires utilized. The data were analyzed using statistical software version 23 and repeated-measurement ANOVA and Bonferroni follow-up tests. The results showed that compassion-focused therapy has a significant effect on IBS patients’ treatment adherence and perceived stress (P<0.001). According to the findings of the present study, compassion-focused therapy can be used as an efficient therapy to increase treatment adherence and decrease perceived stress in IBS patients by employing techniques such as increasing positive experiences, training compassion expression, and identifying incorrect evaluations.

Keywords

• adherence to therapy
• compassion-focused therapy
• irritable bowel syndrome
• perceived stress