Iranian Journal of Educational Sociology 2645-3460 In Press 2026 09 01 Comparison of the Effectiveness of Self-Compassion Therapy and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Self-Criticism and Resilience in Individuals with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Related to the Iraqi Civil War Comparison of the Effectiveness of Self-Compassion Therapy and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Self-Criticism and Resilience in Individuals with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Related to the Iraqi Civil War 1 16 10.61838/5xaqt229 EN Journal Article 2026 04 01 <p><strong>Purpose:</strong> The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of self-compassion therapy and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) in reducing self-criticism and enhancing resilience among individuals with war-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).</p> <p><strong>Methods and Materials:</strong> This experimental study employed a multigroup pretest–posttest design. A total of 60 individuals with PTSD related to the Iraqi Civil War were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (self-compassion therapy and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy) and one control group (waiting-list control). The research instruments included the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD, the Levels of Self-Criticism Scale (LOSC), and the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and the Bonferroni post hoc test in SPSS version 26.</p> <p><strong>Findings:</strong> The results indicated that both interventions significantly reduced self-criticism and improved resilience (p &lt; .05). The Bonferroni post hoc test further showed that trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy was significantly more effective than self-compassion therapy (p &lt; .05).</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The findings demonstrated that both self-compassion therapy and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy significantly reduced self-criticism and enhanced resilience among individuals with war-related PTSD, whereas no significant changes were observed in the control group. Furthermore, comparison of the two interventions indicated that trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy was more effective than self-compassion therapy in reducing self-criticism and improving resilience.</p> https://qijes.com/index.php/ijes/article/download/1549/1525