Zemestani, M., & Mozaffar, S. (2020). Acceptance and commitment therapy for the treatment of depression in persons with physical disability: a randomized controlled trial. Clinical Rehabilitation, 1–10. DOI: 10.1177/0269215520923135
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 (n=23) received eight weekly 90-minute group sessions based on standard ACT protocol for depression. Participants in the control group (n=29) received psychoeducation regarding depression.
Main measures: Measures were recorded at baseline, eight weeks (end of treatment), and 16weeks (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, P<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, P<0.001), adaptive emotion regulation strategies (ACT 10.74±0.62 vs control 0.03±1.03, P<0.001), and psychological well-being (ACT 66.95±4.01 vs control –1.90±1.04, P<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 disabilities.