The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Group Therapy on Anxiety and Depression in Women with MS Who Were Referred to the MS Association

Introduction: Acceptance and commitment therapy is a third generation behavior therapy in treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment group therapy on anxiety and depression in women with MS.
Method: In this study which was a Quasi-Experimental with pre-test, post-test and control group, the sample group was selected by available sampling method from patients referred to the Isfahan MS association. Therefore, 20 female subjects were chosen randomly and assigned to two control & experimental groups (each with 10 subjects). To assess the severity of depression and anxiety and experiential avoidance too, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Beck anxiety Inventory and an acceptance and action inventory were used respectively in pre-test. The experimental group experienced the treatment based on commitment and acceptance group therapy in eight two hours sessions and the control group did not receive any treatment. These questionnaires again conducted on both group in post-test.
Results: The results showed that anxiety and depression and experiential avoidance scores of experimental group significantly decreased and in one-month fallow up did not significantly differ. So, group treatment based on the acceptance and commitment therapy caused significant changes in the treatment of anxiety and depression in women with MS.
Conclusion: The results emphasize the importance of the use of these interventions in people with MS with other mental disorders and provide new horizons in clinical interventions.