بررسی اثربخشی درمان هیجانمدار بر اضطراب اجتماعی زنان مبتلا به چاقی شهر تهران

Introduction: The prevalence of obesity is rising in developing countries, and it is often associated with various psychological disorders. So timely diagnosis and treatment of these disorders are essential. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of emotion-oriented therapy on social anxiety in obese women. Materials and Methods: This semi-experimental, practical study employed a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population included all women suffering from obesity in Tehran province who visited weight loss centers in 2023, Thirty participants who met the study criteria were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. Data were collected using the Social Anxiety Questionnaire by Conover (2000). The analysis of the covariance (ANCOVA) method was utilized to analyze the data with SPSS-26 software. Results: The findings indicated that social anxiety scores in the experimental group significantly decreased in the post-test compared to the pre-test (p < 0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the social anxiety scores between the experimental and control groups in the post-test phase. Conclusion: The results suggest that emotion-oriented therapy effectively reduces social anxiety levels in obese women. Mental health professionals are encouraged to incorporate this therapeutic approach to address psychological issues such as social anxiety, shame, and lack of self-confidence in individuals with obesity.