Abstract:

Background and Aim: Schema therapy is designed as an important treatment method to increase mental health and self-differentiation. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of schema therapy on mental health and differentiation in students in Isfahan. Methods: The present study is applied in terms of purpose and semi-experimental in terms of method with pre-test and post-test design with control group. The statistical population of this study included all male and female students referred to the counseling center of Islamic Azad University, Isfahan Branch. A total of 40 students were selected by available sampling method and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (20 people in each group). The experimental group was trained in 8 90-minute sessions using schema therapy. All groups completed the Scoron and Smith Self-Differentiation Questionnaire (2003) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) as a pretest, posttest, and one-month follow-up. Data were analyzed by multivariate covariance (Mankova) method. Results: The results showed that schema therapy has increased students' mental health. This program also led to a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group in their differentiation. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that schema therapy was an effective method to increase mental health and the level of differentiation from students; Therefore, counselors and therapists can use schema therapy to increase their mental health and level of differentiation.

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