Development of a Psychodynamic–Emotion-Focused Therapeutic Package and Comparison of Its Effectiveness with Dialectical Behavior Therapy on Emotional Capital and Sensation Seeking among Women with Comorbid Depression and Social Anxiety
Keywords:
Psychodynamic psychotherapy, emotion-focused therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, emotional capital, sensation seeking, depression, social anxietyAbstract
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to develop a psychodynamic–emotion-focused therapeutic package and compare its effectiveness with dialectical behavior therapy in improving emotional capital and modifying sensation seeking among women with comorbid depression and social anxiety. This exploratory sequential mixed-methods study was conducted in qualitative and quantitative phases. In the qualitative phase, relevant scientific texts were analyzed using theory-driven deductive thematic analysis, and the extracted components were organized into a ten-session psychodynamic–emotion-focused therapeutic package whose content validity was evaluated by experts. The quantitative phase employed a quasi-experimental three-group pretest–posttest design with a two-month follow-up. Forty-five unmarried women aged 20–40 years attending counseling centers in Isfahan were randomly assigned to psychodynamic–emotion-focused therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and control groups, with 15 participants in each group. The experimental groups received ten one-hour sessions, whereas the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Beck Depression Inventory, Connor Social Phobia Inventory, Golparvar Emotional Capital Questionnaire, and Zuckerman Sensation-Seeking Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using mixed-design repeated-measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni post-hoc comparisons. The main effect of time on emotional capital was significant, F(2, 84) = 552.183, p < .001, partial η² = .929. The time-by-group interaction was also significant, F(4, 84) = 413.550, p < .001, partial η² = .952. Bonferroni comparisons showed significant increases in emotional capital from pretest to posttest and follow-up in both experimental groups, with substantially greater improvement in the psychodynamic–emotion-focused group. For sensation seeking, neither the main effect of time, F(1.644, 69.066) = 0.234, p = .748, nor the time-by-group interaction, F(3.289, 69.066) = 0.654, p = .597, was significant. Both interventions improved emotional capital, although the psychodynamic–emotion-focused package produced markedly stronger and sustained effects, while neither intervention significantly changed sensation seeking.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Reza Arab Markadeh (Author); Hadi Farhadi; Seyyed Hamid Atashpour (Author)
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