The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of self-focused compassion therapy on distress tolerance and alexithymia in women with skin picking and hair picking disorder in Tehran. This study was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The research population included female students of Islamic Azad University, Tehran Medical Sciences Branch, who were selected based on the inclusion criteria and purposive sampling method. A total of 45 eligible subjects were identified and after random assignment using a random number table, 30 subjects were replaced in two experimental (15 subjects) and control (15 subjects) groups. The experimental group received self-focused compassion therapy intervention, and the control group did not receive any intervention. Data collection tools included a demographic information questionnaire, a distress tolerance questionnaire, and an alexithymia questionnaire. Data were collected and analyzed in three stages: pre-test, post-test, and three-month follow-up. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of distress tolerance and alexithymia at the pre-test stage, which indicated the initial homogeneity of the groups, but at the post-test and follow-up stage, a significant difference was observed between the two groups, indicating the effectiveness of self-focused compassion therapy in improving distress tolerance and reducing alexithymia in women with hair-picking disorder. Accordingly, it can be concluded that this therapeutic approach can be effective in reducing the severity of symptoms and improving the emotional indicators of these individuals.
