anxiety

Background: Besides physical problems, cigarette smoking is associated with a high prevalence of comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms. One of the reasons behind high post-cessation smoking lapse and relapse rates is inattentiveness to these symptoms during the process of cessation. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on male smokers' comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms and smoking cessation.

Methods: This two-group pre-test-post-test randomized controlled trial was done on a random sample of seventy male smokers. Participants were randomly and evenly allocated to an intervention and a control group. Patients in these groups received either acceptance or commitment therapy or routine psychological counseling services include cognitive behavior therapy, respectively. Study data were collected through a demographic questionnaire, the Structural Clinical Interview (SCI) for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-4th Edition (DSM-IV) disorders, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Micro Smokerlyzer carbon monoxide monitor. The SPSS software was employed to analyze the data.

Findings: After the intervention, depression and anxiety scores and smoking cessation rate in the intervention group were respectively lower and higher than the control group (P < 0.050).

Conclusion: ACT can significantly improve comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms and smoking cessation rate. Thus, it can be used to simultaneously manage depression, anxiety, and cigarette smoking.

Full text: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29657693/

Background

In Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, fluctuations in symptoms commonly occur after many years of dopamine replacement therapy. The so-called wearing-off phenomenon exists of both motor and non-motor symptoms, such as rigidity and anxiety. Current treatment options are limited and an integrated approach is needed to address the complex interactions between motor and non-motor symptoms. Since wearing-off is eventually inevitable, treatment needs to focus on coping, acceptance and self-efficacy. We developed the body awareness training, named BEWARE, combining physical therapy with acceptance and commitment therapy to help PD patients deal better with wearing-off related anxiety (WRA).

Methods

This was an investigator-blinded randomized controlled trial. Forty PD patients with WRA were randomly assigned to the BEWARE or to the treatment as usual (TAU) condition. Assessments were performed prior to and immediately after the treatment period, and at 3-months follow up. The primary outcome was self-efficacy, secondary outcomes focused on mobility, daily functioning, anxiety, depression and quality of life.

Results

There was no significant improvement in self-efficacy in the BEWARE treatment condition when compared to TAU. However, standing balance and emotional wellbeing showed a significant improvement, and feelings of stigmatization showed a trend-significant decrease in the BEWARE condition.

Conclusions

We consider the BEWARE training to be a promising therapeutic approach to address WRA. Improvement points from the participants included 1) less frequent but longer therapy sessions; 2) active involvement of caregivers; and 3) the development of a supportive workbook. The optimized treatment protocol needs further evaluation in a phase III RCT.

چکیده

پژوهش حاضر در پی بررسی تاثیر درمان پذیرش و تعهد بر فرانگرانی، نگرانی اجتماعی و نگرانی سالمتی

دانشجویان بود. پژوهش حاضر، نیمه آزمایشی و طرح پژوهش از نوع پیشآزمون-پسآزمون با گروه

کنترل بود. جامعه آماری شامل کلیه دانشجویان دانشگاه آزاد همدان به تعداد 45111 نفردر سال 4341 بود.

نمونه این تحقیق مشتمل بر 31 دانشجو )01 دختر و 41 پسر( از جامعه مذکور بود. برای انتخاب نمونه از

روش نمونه گیری هدفمند استفاده شد. آزمودنی ها بهطور تصادفی به دو گروه آزمایش و کنترل تقسیم

شدند. ابزار سنجش این پژوهش، مقیاس افکار اضطرابی ولز بود. این ابزار سه مقیاس اضطراب اجتماعی،

اضطراب فراگیر )فرانگرانی( و اضطراب سالمتی را میسنجد. درمان مبتنی بر پذیرش و تعهد در مداخله 8

جلسه 15 دقیقه ای به صورت انفرادی و هفتگی در مرکز پژوهشی منشور مهر اجرا شد. آزمودنیها قبل از

درمان، و یک ماه پس از درمان به پرسشنامه پاسخ دادند. به منظور تجزیهوتحلیل دادهها از تحلیل

کوواریانس استفاده شد. نتایج نشان داد، درمان مبتنی بر پذیرش و تعهد باعث کاهش فرانگرانی و اضطراب

اجتماعی می شود، اما نگرانی سالمتی کاهش پیدا نکرد. پیشنهاد می گردد، پژوهشگران مداخله درمان

مبتنی بر پذیرش و تعهد و پروتکل مورد استفاده در این پژوهش را در سایر جوامع و گروههای سنی استفاده

نمایند.

Cancer. ACT vs. CBT. N=36.

Objectives: Women with breast cancer are at risk for many negative effects of this disease in which, the need of psychological interventions associated with other treatments is felt for them. From the set of interventions conducted at various but limited studies, the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been established in particular. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy in patients with breast cancer.

Methods: To this end, 36 women with breast cancer were selected from SHOHADATehran in available samples and they were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. All three groups were evaluated with the question of stress, anxiety and depression (DASS) in three phase of pre-test, post-test and follow-up. The experimental groups underwent eight sessions of acceptance and commitment and cognitive-behavioral therapy in a form of a group, each session lasting two hours. Repeated measure analysis of stress, anxiety, depression for all subjects in pre-test and post-test and follow-up (three months later) indicated receiving cognitive-behavioral and acceptance commitment training.

 

Individuals with public speaking anxiety (PSA) experience fear and avoidance that can cause extreme distress, impaired speaking performance, and associated problems in psychosocial functioning. Most extant interventions for PSA emphasize anxiety reduction rather than enhancing behavioral performance. We compared the efficacy of two brief cognitive-behavioral interventions, a traditional cognitive-behavior treatment (tCBT) and an acceptance-based behavior treatment (ABBT), on public speaking performance and anxiety in a clinical sample of persons with PSA. The effects of treatment on prefrontal brain activation were also examined. Participants (n = 21) were randomized to 90 min of an ABBT or a tCBT intervention. Assessments took place at pre- and post-treatment and included self-rated anxiety and observer-rated performance measures, a behavioral assessment, and prefrontal cortical activity measurements using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Exploratory results indicated that participants in the ABBT condition experienced greater improvements in observer-rated performance relative to those in the tCBT condition, while those in the tCBT condition experienced greater reductions in subjective anxiety levels. Individuals in the ABBT condition also exhibited a trend toward greater treatment-related reductions in blood volume in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex relative to those who received tCBT. Overall, these findings preliminarily suggest that acceptance-based treatments may free more cognitive resources in comparison with tCBT, possibly resulting in greater improvements in objectively rated behavioral performances for ABBT interventions.

Psychotherapy based on acceptance and commitment therapy is one of the third wave therapies that emphasizes on the functional changes of thoughts and feelings instead of changing the form, content or the frequency of them. It seems in disorders such as anxiety, thoughts and feelings functional changes occur much faster and easier than changing the form and content. The present study aims at investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on reducing conference anxiety among the female students.

Methods

The study used a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design with control group. The research sample was selected using random sampling and divided into two groups. The experimental group received acceptance and commitment therapy for 8 two-hour sessions, and the control group did not receive any treatment. The questionnaires were again given to both groups in the posttest phase.

Findings

There was a significant difference between experimental and control groups. The results of covariance analysis revealed acceptance and commitment therapy significantly reduced the physiological symptoms of conference anxiety and increased the speaker's self-confidence.

Result

According to the obtained results, acceptance and commitment therapy significantly reduced the participants’ anxiety who suffered from conference anxiety.

Full text: http://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:ijrobhrm&volume=4&issue=2&article=002

Patients with acquired brain injury (ABI) often experience symptoms of anxiety and depression. Until now, evidence-based treatment is scarce. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for patients with ABI. To evaluate the effect of ACT for people with ABI, a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across four cases was used. Participants were randomly assigned to a baseline period, followed by treatment and then follow-up phases. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were repeatedly measured. During six measurement moments over a year, participants filled in questionnaires measuring anxiety, depression, stress, participation, quality of life, and ACT-related processes. Randomization tests and NAP scores were used to calculate the level of change across phases. Clinically significant change was defined with the Reliable Change Index. Three out of four participants showed medium to large decreases in anxiety and depressive symptoms (NAP = 0.85 till 0.99). Furthermore, participants showed improvements regarding stress, cognitive fusion, and quality of life. There were no improvements regarding psychological flexibility, value-driven behaviour, or social participation. This study shows that ACT is possibly an effective treatment option for people experiencing ABI-related anxiety and depression symptoms. Replication with single case or large scale group studies is needed to confirm these findings.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can be effective in treating anxiety disorders, yet there has been no study on Internet-delivered ACT for social anxiety disorder (SAD) and panic disorder (PD), nor any study investigating whether therapist guidance is superior to unguided self-help when supplemented with a smartphone application. In the current trial, n = 152 participants diagnosed with SAD and/or PD were randomized to therapist-guided or unguided treatment, or a waiting-list control group. Both treatment groups used an Internet-delivered ACT-based treatment program and a smartphone application. Outcome measures were self-rated general and social anxiety and panic symptoms. Treatment groups saw reduced general (d = 0.39) and social anxiety (d = 0.70), but not panic symptoms (d = 0.05) compared to the waiting-list group, yet no differences in outcomes were observed between guided and unguided interventions. We conclude that Internet-delivered ACT is appropriate for treating SAD and potentially PD. Smartphone applications may partially compensate for lack of therapist support.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on social anxiety, rejection sensitivity, and acceptance of social anxiety disorder-prone college students. A total of 400 students of four-year colleges who lived in Chonbuk province completed the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SADS). The 16 participants who were selected by the scale were randomly assigned to 8 in the acceptance and commitment therapy group and 8 in the control group. The ACT program was administered for 8 sessions. All participants completed the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SADS), Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire(RSQ), and Acceptance Action Questionnaire-Ⅱ(AAQ) at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 5-week follow-up period. The results of this study were as follows: Social anxiety, and rejection sensitivity were significantly decreased in the therapy group compare with the control group, while acceptance was significantly increased compared with the control group. The effect of social anxiety, rejection sensitivity and, experiential avoidance were maintained up to follow-up. Finally, the implications and the limitations of this study, and the suggestions for future study were also discussed.

The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of ACT on smartphone addiction level, self-control, and anxiety of college students with smartphone addiction. 320 college students who lived in Chonbuk completed SAPS-A. 42 students who gained more than 40 points score by SAPS-A completed SCRS, STAI, and AAQ-16 as pre-treatment. Final 18 participants were randomly assigned to 9 in the ACT group and 9 in control group. ACT program was administered for 8 sessions, follow-up study was conducted at the end of treatment and at 4 weeks follow-up periods. The results of this study were as follows: Smartphone addiction and anxiety levels of ACT group were significantly reduced and maintained until the follow-up. Self-control and Acceptance-action levels were significantly increased and maintained until the follow-up. It has been confirmed that ACT had an effect on smartphone addiction treatment, anxiety decrease and self-control ability improving, therefore, based on this result, further research will be needed to apply the ACT on smartphone addiction treatment in families, school, local community, etc.