Comparing the Effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Psychodynamic Therapy and Emotion-Focused Therapy on Alexithymia in Patients with Psychosomatic Disorders
Keywords:
Alexithymia, Psychosomatic Disorders, Intensive Short-Term Psychodynamic Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, Emotional RegulationAbstract
The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of intensive short-term psychodynamic therapy and emotion-focused therapy on alexithymia in patients with psychosomatic disorders. This applied study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest–posttest control group and a follow-up phase. The statistical population consisted of patients with psychosomatic disorders referred to Niayesh Psychiatric Hospital in Tehran during 2024–2025. A total of 45 participants were selected using purposive sampling based on inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned into three groups: intensive short-term psychodynamic therapy, emotion-focused therapy, and a control group (15 participants in each group). The experimental groups received structured therapeutic interventions over multiple sessions, while the control group received no intervention during the study period. Data were collected using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) at three stages: pretest, posttest, and follow-up. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS-28 at both descriptive and inferential levels, including analysis of covariance, repeated measures ANOVA, and Bonferroni post hoc tests. The results of analysis of covariance indicated that both intensive short-term psychodynamic therapy (F = 25.91, p < 0.001, η² = 0.558) and emotion-focused therapy (F = 39.62, p < 0.001, η² = 0.595) had significant effects on reducing alexithymia. Repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant effect of time (F = 32.53, p < 0.001, η² = 0.437) and a significant interaction effect between time and group (F = 16.07, p < 0.001, η² = 0.433), while the main effect of group was not significant (F = 1.17, p = 0.320). Bonferroni post hoc results revealed that both intervention groups had significantly lower alexithymia scores compared to the control group at posttest (p < 0.001), with no significant difference between the two treatment groups (p = 0.452). Pairwise comparisons across time indicated significant reductions from pretest to posttest and follow-up in both intervention groups (p < 0.001). Both intensive short-term psychodynamic therapy and emotion-focused therapy are effective interventions for reducing alexithymia in patients with psychosomatic disorders, with stable effects over time and no significant difference in effectiveness between the two approaches.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Parisa Khanipoor Kakesh (Author); Moloud Keykhosrovani; Seyed Asghar Mousavi (Author)
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