The Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy on Resilience, Shame, Internal Self-Criticism, and Quality of Life of Patients with Vitiligo

Background: Vitiligo is a disease of progressive and permanent skin depigmentation. This disease impacts patients' quality of life through psychological distress, which shows itself in various ways. This distress includes shame and internal self-criticism in patients with vitiligo. Resilience can appear as the strength against distress. Objectives: This research aimed to assess the impact of compassion-focused therapy (CFT) on various outcomes, including resilience, shame, internal self-criticism, and quality of life in individuals with vitiligo. Methods: In this study, an RCT design was employed, incorporating both pre- and post-test evaluations alongside a control group, to examine the impact of CFT on resilience, shame, internal self-criticism, and quality of life in patients with vitiligo. Forty patients with vitiligo were selected from Razi Dermatology Hospital in Tehran in 2019. The participants were randomly assigned to either a control or experimental group. The World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, levels of self-criticism scale, and Internalized Shame Scale were used to complete the pre-and post-test phases. Compassion-focused therapy based on the Gilbert therapy package was held in eight 2 h sessions once a week for the experimental group. The control group received the intervention after the end of the experimental group intervention. Results: The results of the covariance analysis indicated that CFT significantly increased the quality of life (P < 0.05, F = 308.97) and resilience (P < 0.05, F = 125.75) and reduced shame (P < 0.05, F = 228.30) and internal self-criticism (P < 0.05, F = 53.44) of patients with vitiligo. Conclusions: Compassion-focused therapy can improve the quality of life and resilience and reduce the shame and internal self-criticism of patients with vitiligo.