Compassion-focused Therapy Effectively Reduces Self-criticism, Negative Thoughts, and Enhances Forgiveness in Women Post-marital infidelity

Objective: Marital infidelity often leads to significant psychological distress, including diminished self-esteem, depression, and anxiety, profoundly affecting women’s mental well-being. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy (CFT) in enhancing forgiveness and reducing self-criticism and repetitive negative thoughts among women impacted by marital infidelity in Ahvaz City, Iran. Methods: A quasi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design, including a control group, was conducted. Thirty married women affected by marital infidelity, recruited via convenience sampling from counseling centers in Ahvaz City (January–March 2025), were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=15) or a control group (n=15). The experimental group received eight 90-minute CFT sessions twice a week, while the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the forgiveness scale (FS), self-criticism levels scale, and repetitive thoughts questionnaire (RTQ) and analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS software, version 27. Results: CFT led to a significant increase in forgiveness and a notable reduction in self-criticism and repetitive negative thoughts in the experimental group compared to the control group (P<0.001). The observed effects were substantial, with large effect sizes across all measures (forgiveness: ηp2=0.71, Cohen’s d=1.92; self-criticism: ηp2=0.78, Cohen’s d=2.34; repetitive negative thoughts: ηp2=0.69, Cohen’s d=1.85). Conclusion: CFT is an effective intervention for improving the psychological well-being of women affected by marital infidelity, promoting forgiveness and reducing negative cognitive patterns.