Journal of

Background and Purpose: Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychological disorders in the general population, often leading to numerous adverse effects and difficulties. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on cognitive flexibility and self-compassion in individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD).
Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test design and a control group. Participants were selected through purposive sampling method, consisting of 30 individuals with SAD referred to counseling centers at Islamic Azad University in Tehran. They were randomly assigned to two groups: experimental (n=15) and control (n=15). Participants completed the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (Dennis & Vander Wal, 2010) and the Self-Compassion Scale (Neff et al., 2003) in both pre-test and post-test phases. Data were analyzed using SPSS-26 software.
Results: The results indicated a significant difference in the scores of cognitive flexibility and self-compassion between the experimental and control groups in the post-test phase, suggesting that MBCT had an impact on individuals with SAD.
Conclusion: It appears that MBCT is an effective intervention for enhancing cognitive flexibility and self-compassion in individuals with SAD. Clinical practitioners may consider incorporating mindfulness-based approaches into their treatment plans for this population.