Comparing the Effectiveness of Young's Schema Therapy and Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on Psychological Resilience in Kidney Patients

Abstract

In addition to physical problems, kidney patients face several psychological difficulties, including reduced psychological resilience. Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Young's schema therapy and intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy on psychological resilience in kidney patients. This quasi-experimental study used a pretest-posttest design with a three-month follow-up and a control group. The statistical population consisted of kidney patients in Mashhad, Iran, in 2023. Forty-five participants were selected through convenience sampling and allocated to three equal groups of 15 participants: two experimental groups and one control group. The first experimental group received Young's schema therapy in eight sessions, and the second experimental group received intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy in fifteen sessions. The control group received no intervention during the study period. Psychological resilience was assessed using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc tests. Both therapeutic approaches were effective in increasing psychological resilience in kidney patients compared with the control group, and the effects remained stable at the three-month follow-up. Comparison of the two treatments showed no significant difference between Young's schema therapy and intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy in psychological resilience; both approaches were equally effective (P < 0.001 for treatment effects; P > 0.05 for between-treatment comparison). The findings suggest that, within the limits of a small feasibility-based quasi-experimental design, both Young's schema therapy and intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy were associated with sustained improvements in self-reported psychological resilience among kidney patients.