Women's experiences of group intervention with schema therapy techniques: A qualitative process analysis

Abstract

Aims Our study focused on a self‐soothing system and analysed how women feeling shame experienced compassion‐focused group intervention with schema therapy techniques. Group schema therapy, which is process‐oriented and person‐oriented (Farrell & Shaw, 2012), inspired us to combine schema therapy techniques with Compassionate Mind Training in the interventions for this study. Methods Data were collected through the programme that comprised 2‐hr sessions over a period of 10 weeks and self‐compassion and self‐criticism diaries of women. Analysis Data analysis was conducted according to the phases of thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Twenty hours of group sessions (2 hr per session) and follow‐up sessions were audio recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis was conducted to analyse 26 hr of group intervention and follow‐up sessions and also women's self‐compassion and self‐criticism diaries, to understand how shame‐prone women experienced change process. Findings Thematic analysis of the group sessions yielded two superordinate themes: overcoming the threat of compassion and the process of change. Overcoming the threat of compassion was divided into three subthemes; fear of self‐compassion, the difficulty of accessing the vulnerable child side, and feeling anger at others and self. The process of change involved two subthemes; the feeling of acceptance, and recognising self‐compassion and its sources in the self. When the women could access their self‐soothing system, they could better understand the needs of their vulnerable child side and address these needs by transferring the emotions of compassion to their vulnerable child side.