Aims: One of the areas, where female students with social anxiety need help to improve their health, is to weaken their anxiety and depression. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of positive existential therapy and positive Iranian-Islamic therapy on anxiety and depression in female students with social anxiety.
Materials and Methods: This semi-experimental research was carried out with a pre-test and post-test design with two experimental groups and one control group among 45 female secondary high school students with social anxiety in Ardestan, who were selected by purposive sampling method in 2017. They were randomly assigned to positive existential therapy, positive Iranian-Islamic therapy, and control group (each group with 15 person). Anxiety questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory were used. The positive existential therapy group received 10 sessions of therapy (each 90 minutes), positive Iranian-Islamic therapy group received 11 sessions of therapy (each 90 minutes), and the control group did not receive any therapy. The data were analyzed by SPSS 20 software, using covariance of a single variable analysis with repeated measurements and Bonferroni post-hoc test.
Findings: There was a significant difference between the positive existential therapy and positive Iranian-Islamic therapy and control group in anxiety and depression in post-test. Also, there was a significant difference between positive Iranian-Islamic therapy and positive existential therapy in depression.
Conclusion: Positive Iranian-Islamic therapy and positive existential therapy reduce anxiety among female students with social anxiety. Also, positive Iranian-Islamic therapy has a greater effect on the reduction of depression of these students rather than positive existential therapy.