-
Study aim
-
Determining the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and psychosomatic problems in women with depression referring to counseling services in Ahvaz
-
Design
-
A controlled, double-blind, randomized, phase 2 clinical trial with parallel groups on 30 patients. The rand function of Excel software was used for randomization.
-
Settings and conduct
-
Acceptance and commitment therapy will be investigated on perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and psychosomatic problems in women with depression referring to counseling services in Ahvaz. The present study will be conducted using a quasi-experimental design on two comparison groups in three stages: pre-test, post-test, and one-month follow-up. The research sample is purposive.
-
Participants/Inclusion and exclusion criteria
-
The inclusion criteria for the study are:) Having at least a high school diploma
A score higher than 19 on the Depression and Perceived Stress Test
Exclusion criteria also include:
Having psychotic symptoms of hallucinations and delusions
Presence of personality disorders
-
Intervention groups
-
Experimental group (ACT intervention): This group receives acceptance and commitment therapy. ACT therapy focuses on accepting unpleasant thoughts and feelings (without trying to change them) and adhering to personal values to create meaningful behavioral changes. Sessions of this therapy usually include exercises in mindfulness, acceptance, cognitive defusion, connecting with values, and committed action.
Control group: This group does not receive any specific intervention: This group does not receive any specific intervention and simply acts as a control group so that changes in the experimental group can be compared with their baseline status.
-
Main outcome variables
-
Perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and psychosomatic problems