Comparison of the Effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy and Schema Therapy on Alexithymia in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease
Keywords:
Chronic kidney disease patients, Schema Therapy, Alexithymia, Intensive Short-Term Dynamic PsychotherapyAbstract
Purpose: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Young’s Schema Therapy and Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on alexithymia in patients with chronic kidney disease.
Methods and Materials: The study employed an experimental design with pretest–posttest and a three-month follow-up, including a control group. The statistical population consisted of patients with chronic kidney disease in the city of Mashhad in 2023. A total of 45 participants were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to three groups of 15 participants each (two experimental groups and one control group). The first experimental group received Young’s Schema Therapy over eight sessions, while the second experimental group underwent Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy over fifteen sessions, whereas the control group received no intervention. The research instrument was the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) (Bagby, Parker, & Taylor, 1994). The data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance.
Findings: The results indicated that both therapeutic approaches were significantly more effective than the control group in reducing alexithymia among patients with chronic kidney disease, and these effects remained stable at the three-month follow-up. However, comparison of the two interventions showed that Schema Therapy demonstrated significantly greater effectiveness than Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy at the follow-up stage (p < .001).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that both therapeutic approaches are beneficial and durable for patients with chronic kidney disease, with Schema Therapy exhibiting a statistically significant superiority.
Downloads
References
Abbady, A. S. (2023). The effectiveness of emotional schema therapy on improving emotion regulation and reducing neurotic perfectionism among university students. Information Sciences Letters, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.18576/isl/120410
Abbass, A., Town, J., & Driessen, E. (2018). Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of outcome research. Psychotherapy, 55(3), 26-40. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22512743/
Alizadeh, S., Aryan, R., & Moradi, S. (2024). Investigating the relationship between emotional alexithymia and maladaptive schemas with marital conflict in married female students. Journal of Cognition, Behavior, and Learning, 1(4), 106-116. https://doi.org/10.61838/jcbl.1.4.9
Amani, N., Hajalizadeh, K., Zarei, E., & Dortaj, F. (2021). The effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on alexithymia in rheumatoid patients. Journal of Applied Psychology. https://rbs.mui.ac.ir/article-1-956-fa.html
Amani, N., Haji Alizadeh, K., Zarei, E., & Dortaj, F. (2020). The effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on anxiety. Journal of Applied Psychology. https://rbs.mui.ac.ir/article-1-843-en.html
Bagheri Sheikhanghafshe, F. A. D., Pirabbassi, G., & Naeimi, M. (2020). Investigating the effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on psychological disorders: A systematic review. Journal of Applied Psychology. https://en.civilica.com/doc/1358792/
Bakhshi Bajestani, A., Shahabizadeh, F., Vaziri, S., & Lotfi Kashani, F. (2021). The effectiveness of short-term psychodynamic therapy on reducing psychological distress and psychosomatic symptoms in patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders having Type D personality. Journal of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, 13(4), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.52547/nkums.13.4.1
Donyavi, M., & Mohtashami, M. (2024). The effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy approach on depression in individuals with dissociative disorders. Quarterly Journal of New Ideas in Psychology, 22(26), 1-12. https://jnip.ir/article-1-1259-en.html
Ebrahimi Javidi, F. (2024). The effectiveness of mindfulness-based schema therapy on rumination and mental health of mothers with children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Quarterly Journal of New Ideas in Psychology, 21(25), 1-14. https://jnip.ir/browse.php?a_id=1162&slc_lang=en&sid=1&printcase=1&hbnr=1&hmb=1
Hosseini, S. M., & Al-Yasin, S. A. (2025). The effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) on distress tolerance and resilience in type 2 diabetic patients. Avicenna Journal of Clinical Medicine, 27(2), 103-112. https://ebnesina.ajaums.ac.ir/article-1-1399-en.html
Jafari, S., & Joharifard, R. (2023). The effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on alexithymia, defense styles, and ego strength in patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, 22(3), 243-258. https://doi.org/10.52547/jrums.22.3.4
Khamarniya, G., Zarei, S., Farahabadi, M., Amirsasan, Y., Mirmasoumi, M. S., & Arkani, E. (2024). The effectiveness of schema therapy on self-worth and cognitive flexibility in women with bulimia nervosa. Rehabilitation Research in Nursing, 11(2), 88-98. https://ijrn.ir/article-1-883-en.pdf
Malekimajd, M., Ameri, F., Pivastehgar, M., & Farahbijari, A. (2024). Examining the effectiveness of schema therapy on alexithymia, dysfunctional relationship beliefs, and sexual intimacy in married women with persistent depressive disorder. Disability Studies, 13(1), 1-10. https://jdisabilstud.org/browse.php?a_id=3130&slc_lang=en&sid=1&printcase=1&hbnr=1&hmb=1
Mami, S., Safarnia, A., Tardast, L., & Abbasi, B. (2021). Effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) to Reducing Alexithymia in Women Applicant for Divorce. Journal of Psychological Studies, 16(4), 127-142. https://doi.org/10.22051/psy.2018.21331.1690
Pilkington, P. D., Karantzas, G. C., Faustino, B., & Pizarro-Campagna, E. (2024). Early maladaptive schemas, emotion regulation difficulties and alexithymia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 31(1), e2914. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2914
Young, J. E., Klosko, J. S., & Weishaar, M. E. (2003). Schema therapy: A practitioner's guide. Guilford Press. https://books.google.com/books/about/Schema_Therapy.html?id=vScjGGgJEZgC
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Shirin Esmaili (Author); Mustafa Bolghan-Abadi; Ahmad Mansouri (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
