Comparison of the Effectiveness of Self-Compassion Training and Positive Psychotherapy on Emotional Distress Tolerance and Resilience in Women with Panic Disorder

Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of self-compassion training and positive psychotherapy on resilience and emotional distress tolerance in women with panic disorder. Methods and Materials: This research employed a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test–post-test structure. The statistical population consisted of women diagnosed with panic disorder in Kermanshah, from whom 40 individuals were selected through systematic random sampling. Data were collected using the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (2003). Data analysis was conducted using inferential statistical tests, including the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, and hypothesis testing was performed using SPSS version 26. The significance level was set at 0.05. Findings: The results indicated that both interventions—self-compassion training and positive psychotherapy—had a significant effect on enhancing resilience and emotional distress tolerance in women with panic disorder. The effect size of positive psychotherapy on resilience was 68%, and on emotional distress tolerance was 73%, while the effect size of self-compassion training was 94.4% for resilience and 42.6% for emotional distress tolerance. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that both therapeutic approaches contribute to the improvement of resilience and emotional distress tolerance in women with panic disorder. However, self-compassion training had a greater impact on increasing resilience, whereas positive psychotherapy showed a stronger effect on improving emotional distress tolerance. Therefore, the application of these approaches in psychological centers and treatment clinics can be beneficial in improving the condition of patients with panic disorder.