scholarly journals Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Depression and Anxiety in People with Substance Use Disorder

2022 ◽  
Vol In Press (In Press) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zohreh Hashemi ◽  
Sanaz Einy ◽  
Matineh Ebadi

Background: The comorbidity of substance use, mood disorders, and anxiety has been proven in various studies, leading to many clinical implications. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in depression and anxiety in individuals with substance use disorder. Methods: This quasi-experimental study utilized a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all people with substance abuse in Urmia in 2019, including 220 subjects. The sample consisted of 50 individuals with substance use disorders selected by purposive sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group was trained in eight sessions, each lasting 90 min, based on the ACT protocol by Hayes et al. (2004), while the control group did not receive any intervention. The data were obtained using the Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory. Pretest and posttest were performed in both groups. The collected data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) using SPSS23 software. Results: The results showed that after controlling for the pretest effects, a significant difference was observed between the mean posttest scores of the two groups in both depression and anxiety (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Acceptance and commitment therapy is an appropriate strategy to effectively improve depression and anxiety in people with substance use disorder.

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 39-51
Author(s):  
Sheida Jabalameli ◽  
Leila Ghasemi

Introduction: The effects of breast cancer and mastectomy on sexuality, an important aspect of personality, emphasize the need for psychological treatments. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on sexual desire in breast cancer patients after mastectomy. Methods: This was a semiexperimental study with an experimental and a control group with a pretest-posttest design. The statistical population included all women with breast cancer in the Isfahan province who had come to Alla charity center in 2017. A sample of 26 women with breast cancer was selected through available sampling and assigned randomly to two groups of 13 subjects each. The experimental group received ACT over 8 sessions and the control group remained on the waiting list until the end of the study. The measurement tool was the Hurlbert Index of Sexual Desire administered before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed with SPSS 16 using an analysis of covariance test. Results: There was a significant difference in the mean scores on sexual desire between the two groups (F = 7.99, p = 0.014). The mean score on sexual desire improved from 0.85 to 1.23 in the treatment group, but there was no change in the control group (1.17 in the pretest vs 1.16 in the posttest). In general, ACT was effective in improving sexual desire in patients (p < 0.05, effect size: 0.48). Conclusion: In general, according to the findings of this research, ACT seems to be effective in improving psychological problems in women with breast cancer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamideh Iri ◽  
Behnam Makvandi ◽  
Saeed Bakhtiarpour ◽  
Fariba Hafezi

Background: Divorce is one of the most stressful life events leading to increased susceptibility to diseases and mood disorders such as hypochondriasis. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on hypochondriasis and psychosocial adjustment in divorced women in Tehran. Methods: The research method was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population in this study consisted of divorced women suffering from divorce-induced psychological distress who visited counseling centers in Tehran in 2018. The sample consisted of 30 divorced women selected by convenience sampling method. The participants were randomly divided into experimental and control groups (n = 15 per group), and the pretest was performed for the experimental and control groups before the intervention program. The experimental group underwent ten sessions of ACT (90-minute sessions per week), and the control group did not receive any treatment. The research instruments included the Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI) and the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS). The Shapiro-Wilk test, Levene test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyze the data. Results: The results indicated that the ACT-based intervention significantly reduced hypochondriasis in divorced women (P = 0.043). In addition, ACT improved the psychosocial adjustment in these women (P = 0.0001). Conclusions: This intervention decreased anxiety under difficult conditions and also improved psychosocial adjustment in divorced women. Therefore, ACT can be used as an effective approach in reducing social and interactional problems and also anxiety in divorced women.


Author(s):  
Parisa Amini ◽  
Reza Karami Nejad

 Introduction: Unsupervised Women always face very serious challenges in life. These problems can affect different aspects of their lives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on self-compassion and marital boredom in Unsupervised Women. Methods: The research was quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test with control group. The statistical population consisted of Unsupervised Women under the Cover of NGOs of Tehran and the sample consisted of 30 women (15 individual in control and 15 individual in Experiment group) according to education level and age. The participants randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The research instrument were Penance Marital Burning Scale and Raes, Pommier, Neff, & Van Gucht self—compassion scale. After the pre-test, the experimental group received 8 sessions of ACT, while the control group received no intervention. At the end of intervention post-test was performed. The results were analyzed by ANCOVA at the level of 0.05 using SPSS 20 software. Results: Based on the results of the research, A significant difference was found between the two groups regarding their Marital Burning (P < 0.001, F=401.28) and increased self-compassion intervention (P < 0.001, F=457.52) before and after intervention. The effect size was 0.9 for Marital Burning and 0.3 for self-compassion. Conclusion: According to the findings of the study, ACT can be used to decrease Marital Burning and increase self-compassion in unsupervised Women. ACT leads to psychological flexibility and commitment to perform actions that may lead to a fulfilling, rich and meaningful life, so it can be used as an effective intervention to decrease Marital Burning and increase self-compassion.


2021 ◽  
Vol In Press (In Press) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahar Amiri ◽  
Parvin Ehteshamzadeh ◽  
Fariba Hafezi ◽  
Mohammad Reza Borna

Background: Cognitive-attentional syndrome (CAS) is one of the primary constructs of depression, the treatment of which is highly challenging because of its high prevalence and the emergence of symptoms such as feelings of sadness, emptiness, and hopelessness. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of behavioral activation (BA) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in CAS in patients with depression. Methods: This quasi-experimental research utilized a pretest, posttest, and two-month follow-up design with a control group. The study population comprised 260 patients with a diagnosis of depression who referred to the psychological centers of Ahvaz in 2019. The sample consisted of 45 patients with depression selected by convenience sampling. We randomly divided the participants into two experimental groups (BA and ACT) and a control group (n = 15 per group). The research instrument included the cognitive-attentional syndrome (CAS-1) questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0 with descriptive and inferential statistics, such as mean, standard deviation, and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Results: In terms of CAS and its components, there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the posttest and follow-up phases (P = 0.0001). Besides, ACT and BA significantly reduced CAS and its components in the posttest phase (P = 0.0001). However, the effectiveness of BA in decreasing CAS and its components remained during the follow-up phase. Furthermore, the results showed that ACT was more effective in reducing attention to threat and metacognitive beliefs during the posttest phase. Conclusions: According to research findings, both BA and ACT are efficient therapies in reducing CAS in patients with depression. Thus, both approaches can be used to strengthen treatment interventions to reduce CAS in patients with depression.


Author(s):  
Abolfazl Ziaee ◽  
Hamid Nejat ◽  
Hossein Akbari Amarghan ◽  
Elham Fariborzi

Today’s people live in a society with many dangers to their peace and security. The effectiveness of different therapies in psychological variables needs to be evaluated to reach the most precise therapies based on research evidence. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of existential therapy (ET) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in alleviating the loneliness and irrational beliefs of male prisoners. In the present quasi-experimental study, the statistical population consisted of all married male prisoners aged between 25 to 45 years in Mashhad Central Prison in the first half of 2017. Among the statistical population, 36 people were selected and then randomly placed in three research groups. The two experimental groups underwent eight separate intervention sessions, ET, and ACT. At the beginning and end of the study, all of the three groups were evaluated by a research questionnaire, including the loneliness scale. The results of data analysis showed that, in comparison with the control group, the changes in the other two groups under ET and ACT were significant as to the feeling of loneliness and irrational beliefs of prisoners. However, there was no significant difference between the effects of these two treatments. The present research was limited in the case of examining the follow-up stage due to lack of access and cooperation of the subjects, incorporating some control variables (such as the history of substance use and psychiatry), and employing other evaluation methods (e.g., interview). It is highly suggested that future research should address these limitations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 47-59
Author(s):  
Laya Ahmadzadeh ◽  
Maryam Vaezi ◽  
Sheida Sodagar ◽  
Maryam Bahrami hidaji ◽  
Gholam Reza Golmohammad Nazhad

Abstract: (2 Views) Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy adopted for couples with integrative couple therapy in improving marital conflicts of couples with breast cancer. Methods: In this semi-experimental study, a pre-post design was used. Using available sampling, we approached 200 couples facing breast cancer referred to the educational and therapeutic center of Alzahra Hospital in Tabriz and enrolled 45 couples with the highest scores on the Marital Conflict Questionnaire in the study. They were randomly divided into three groups: two experimental groups and one control group. One of the experimental groups received 8 consecutive 90-minute sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy adopted for couples, and the other experimental group received 16 sessions of integrative couple therapy. The control group did not receive any intervention. The research tool was the Marital Conflict Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance. Results: The treatment based on acceptance and commitment therapy was effective in reducing marital conflict (P < 0.05). Integrative couple therapy, too, reduced marital conflict in women with cancer (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the two treatment modalities (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Both acceptance and commitment therapy and integrative couple therapy are effective approaches to solving couples’ individual and communicative problems.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 410-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mostafa Heydari ◽  
Saideh Masafi ◽  
Mehdi Jafari ◽  
Seyed Hassan Saadat ◽  
Shima Shahyad

AIM: Considering the key role of human resources as the main operator of organisations, the present research aimed to determine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for anxiety and depression of Razi Psychiatric Center staff.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This research follows a quasi-experimental type with pre-test, post-test plans, and control group. Accordingly, 30 people were selected through volunteered sampling among Razi Psychiatric Center staff. Then, they were randomly placed into two groups of 15 (experimental and control) and evaluated using research tools. Research tools consisted of Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventories whose reliability and validity have been confirmed in several studies. Research data were analysed using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).Results: The statistical analysis confirmed the difference in the components of anxiety and depression in the experimental group, which had received acceptance and commitment therapy compared to the group that had not received any therapy in this regard (control group) (p < 0.05).CONCLUSION: Acceptance and commitment therapy reduces anxiety and depression.


Background: The gastrointestinal tract, as one of the most important organs of the body, has its own diseases that involved many people. Therefore, the present study seeks to investigate the effectiveness acceptance and commitment therapy based on cognitive-emotional regulation and cognitive flexibility among gastrointestinal patients. Materials and Methods: The research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design with control group was unbalanced and the statistical population of this study was all gastrointestinal patients in Sari who referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital in 2020 and its sample included 30 people (15 people for the experimental group and 15 people for the control group), who were selected using the available sampling method. Then, the members of the experimental group were treated for 8 sessions based on acceptance and commitment and the control group did not receive any treatment. Research instruments included the Cognitive-Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (Garnowski et al, 2001) and Cognitive Flexibility (Dena and Venedrwal, 2010). And the statistical method of this research was multivariate analysis of covariance. Results: The results of multivariable covariance analysis showed that acceptance and commitment therapy was effective on cognitive-emotional regulation and cognitive flexibility and significantly improved cognitive-emotional regulation and cognitive flexibility in gastrointestinal patients. Conclusion: According to the research findings, acceptance and commitment therapy can be used as an effective method to promote cognitive-emotional regulation and cognitive flexibility in gastrointestinal patients.


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