Acceptance and commitment therapy for the treatment of depression in persons with physical disability: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on depressive symptoms in physically disabled persons.

DESIGN

Randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

State welfare organization in Kamyaran, Kurdistan, Iran.

PARTICIPANTS

Fifty-two physically disabled participants with a primary diagnosis of depression were randomly assigned to either ACT or control groups.

INTERVENTIONS

Participants in the ACT group ( = 23) received eight weekly 90-minute group sessions based on standard ACT protocol for depression. Participants in the control group ( = 29) received psychoeducation regarding depression.

MAIN MEASURES

Measures were recorded at baseline, eight weeks (end of treatment), and 16 weeks (follow-up). The outcomes were the change in the depressive symptoms, measured by Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), psychological flexibility, emotion regulation, and psychological well-being measured by Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB), respectively.

RESULTS

After eight weeks, significant changes in depressive symptoms was observed in the experimental group (ACT -10.39 ± 0.79 vs control 0.66 ± 0.68,  < 0.001). Compared to the control group, the experimental group also showed significant improvement in psychological flexibility (ACT 8.13 ± 0.52 vs control -0.03 ± 0.51,  < 0.001), adaptive emotion regulation strategies (ACT 10.74 ± 0.62 vs control 0.03 ± 1.03,  < 0.001), and psychological well-being (ACT 66.95 ± 4.01 vs control -1.90 ± 1.04,  < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Compared with control group, ACT significantly reduced the participants' depression, and changed psychological flexibility, emotion regulation, and psychological well-being in persons with physical disability.