The effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy on distress tolerance, fear of positive experience, and psychosomatic symptoms in individuals experiencing grief due to COVID-19

Background and aims: Deaths caused by the coronavirus have complicated ‎the grieving process, often leading to unexpressed or complicated ‎grief with severe and long-lasting consequences. This study aimed to ‎investigate the effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy on distress ‎tolerance, fear of positive experience, and psychosomatic symptoms ‎in individuals suffering bereavement related to COVID-19.‎ Methods: This semi-experimental study employed a pre-test/post-test ‎design with control group. The sample consisted of 20 individuals ‎experiencing grief due to COVID-19, selected through convenience ‎sampling. Participants were randomly assigned to either the emotion-‎focused therapy group (n = 10) or the control group (n = 10). ‎Measures included Simmons and Gaher’s Distress Tolerance ‎Questionnaire, a researcher-designed Fear of Positive Experience ‎Questionnaire, and Lacourt’s Psychosomatic Symptoms ‎Questionnaire. Following the pre-test, the experimental group ‎underwent 10 sessions of emotion-focused therapy.‎ Results: Findings indicated that emotion-focused therapy had a ‎significant positive effect on distress tolerance, fear of positive ‎experience, and psychosomatic symptoms (p<0.05).‎ Conclusion: The results suggest that emotion-focused therapy can ‎effectively enhance psychological well-being in individuals grieving ‎losses caused by COVID-19. Such interventions may be beneficial in ‎addressing the emotional and psychosomatic challenges associated ‎with bereavement.‎