The Effectiveness of Schema Therapy on Self-Compassion, Body Shame, and Uncertainty Intolerance in Women Applying for Cosmetic Surgery.

Background: In the past, cosmetic surgery was performed to return the function and normal shape of a body part. But today, cosmetic surgery has lost its main function. The present research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of schema therapy on self-compassion, body shame, and intolerance of uncertainty in women applying for cosmetic surgery. Methods: The current research was applied and semi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of this research was all women who were referred to cosmetic clinics for cosmetic surgery in Tehran City, Iran, in 2023, and 30 people were selected by the convenience sampling method and randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group. Data were collected using the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBC), and Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS). Schema therapy intervention was performed during 8 sessions of 120 minutes once a week for the experimental group and the data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) in SPSS software. Results: A statistically significant increase in self-compassion (F = 239.454) and reductions in body shame (F = 555.477) and uncertainty intolerance (F = 301.050) were observed in the experimental group after schema therapy (P < 0.001). Conclusion: It can be concluded that schema therapy increases self-compassion and reduces body shame and intolerance of uncertainty in women applying for cosmetic surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]