فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

Introduction: Social anxiety disorder is a prevalent and debilitating condition amongadolescents, often maintained by dysfunctional meta-emotional beliefs. The presentstudy aimed to compare the effectiveness of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET)and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on meta-emotional dimensions inadolescents with social anxiety in Ahvaz, Iran.Methods: This study utilized a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design with a control group.The statistical population included all adolescents with social anxiety disorder who soughttreatment at counseling centers in Ahvaz between March and June 2024. A conveniencesample of 45 participants was selected and then randomly assigned to two experimentalgroups (VRET, n=15; MBCT, n=15) and a control group (n=15). VRET consisted of eightweekly 45-minute sessions, while MBCT consisted of eight weekly 90-minute sessions. Datawere collected using diagnostic interviews and the Meta-Emotion Questionnaire (MEQ), andanalyzed using a repeated-measures ANOVA.Results: Both the VRET and MBCT groups showed significant improvement in metaemotionaldimensions compared with the control group. Furthermore, VRET demonstrateda slightly greater improvement, although both therapies maintained their positive effects atthe three-month follow-up.Conclusion: The results indicate that both VRET and MBCT are effective interventions forimproving meta-emotional dimensions in adolescents with social anxiety. These findingshighlight the potential for integrating technology-based and mindfulness-based approachesinto clinical practice to enhance therapeutic outcomes.