Comparing the Effectiveness of Narrative Therapy and Emotion Focused Therapy on Primary Maladaptive Schemas, Impulsivity and Depression in Students with Suicidal Thoughts

The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of narrative therapy and emotion-focused therapy on early maladaptive schemas, impulsivity, and depression among students with suicidal thoughts. The study employed a semi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest approach and a control group. The statistical population comprised all male high school students in District 14 of Tehran for the academic year 1402-1401. The sample was selected through cluster sampling, with 60 students randomly assigned to three groups (2 experimental groups, one control group, 20 peoples each), based on a cutoff point. The research instruments were included Young's Early Maladaptive Schemas Questionnaire, the Barratt Impulsivity Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. Interventions were the narrative therapy and emotion-focused therapy (8 sessions of 90 mins, per week, each). The analysis of covariance results at the posttest stage indicated a significant difference of the meam scores between narrative therapy and emotion-focused therapy groups opposed to the control group. However, no significant difference was observed between the two interventions. Thus, both narrative therapy and emotion-focused therapy had a positive impact on reducing early maladaptive schemas, impulsivity, and depression among students with suicidal thoughts.