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Mean and SD of scores of dependent variables.
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This study aimed to investigate whether Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) leads to reduced anxiety and depression symptoms in health care workers during the pressure of the covid-19 pandemic. ACT has been developed to improve psychological flexibility, and it has been used on a wide range of psychological disorders. For this study, 40 health...
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... analyses (cf., Table 1) showed that the mean scores of depression, anxiety, acceptance, and action of the treatment group decreased and quality of life increased in post-test while the average of the same variables in the control group had no significant differences. Analysis of covariance was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of ACT on depression and anxiety by controlling the effect of the pre-test. ...Similar publications
Caregiving may be a burden to the Psychological Health (PH) of mothers of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP). However, little attention is given to psychotherapeutic intervention in managing mothers caring for such children in Nigeria. This study, therefore, investigated the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) among mothers of childr...
Citations
... Generally, therapists encourage clients in ACT to reduce unhelpful battles with psychological content while fostering a more accepting stance to move in a valued direction (Afshari et al., 2022;Caletti et al., 2022). For instance, in the application of ACT for anxiety disorders, the client learns to end the struggle with discomfort associated with anxiety and to engage in activities that bring them closer to chosen life goals (values) (Otared et al., 2021;Zarling et al., 2019). Self-compassion, as a positive stance towards oneself when things go wrong, is considered both a trait and an effective protective factor for cultivating emotional resilience. ...
Objective: This study aims to compare the effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) enriched with compassion in altering dysfunctional communication beliefs among women seeking divorce. Methods: Statistical population of this study consisted of all women seeking divorce in District 4 of Tehran city in the year 2021, who were selected from counseling centers supervised by the Organization of Psychology and Welfare through convenience sampling. Next, Eidelson and Epstein’s (1982) Communication Beliefs Questionnaires were distributed for completion, and 45 individuals who scored high on these scales were selected as the sample and randomly placed into two experimental groups and one control group (each group consisting of 15 individuals). For data analysis, descriptive statistical methods (frequency indices, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (multivariate repeated measures analysis of variance) using SPSS-24 were employed. Findings: Results indicated no significant difference between the ISTDP and ACT enriched with compassion in altering dysfunctional communication beliefs. Both groups showed improvement compared to the control group, but no significant difference was noted between the two in terms of effectiveness. Conclusion: Both ISTDP and ACT enriched with compassion are effective in reducing dysfunctional communication beliefs among women seeking divorce, with no significant difference in effectiveness between the two. This suggests that both therapeutic approaches can be beneficial in this context. Future research should consider broader and more diverse samples, longer follow-up periods, and comparisons to active control groups to further understand the sustained impact and efficacy of these therapies.
... The findings regarding the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy align with prior studies (Ashrafi Alavijeh & Atashin Jabin, 2021; Bahramiabdolmalaki et al., 2021;Han et al., 2020;Hayes, 2004;Kelson et al., 2019;Otared et al., 2021;Zhao et al., 2021). Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a psychotherapy approach that emphasizes behavioral principles based on mindfulness. ...
... In this approach, individuals learn to accept negative feelings instead of resisting them, allowing them to engage with their emotions related to grief and COVID-19 anxiety. It also helps them avoid focusing on negative thoughts and self-concepts and instead commit to actions that improve life quality (Otared et al., 2021;Zhao et al., 2021). ...
Objective: Ego strength indicates an individual's capacity to endure stress without experiencing crippling anxiety and is related to a sense of competence and self-sufficiency in personal and social domains. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of therapy based on the integrated self-analytic approach on psychological capital, psychological well-being, ego strength, and emotion regulation difficulties in individuals suffering from COVID-19 grief syndrome. Methods and Materials: The present research method was quasi-experimental, employing a pretest-posttest control group design with a two-month follow-up. The statistical population consisted of individuals with COVID-19 grief syndrome in Isfahan during the second half of 2022. Using a purposive sampling method, 30 eligible individuals were selected and randomly assigned equally to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received the integrated self-analytic approach therapy (Atashpour et al., 2021) and the acceptance and commitment therapy (Hayes, 2004), while the control group did not receive any intervention. Data collection tools included the Bart and Scott Grief Experience Questionnaire (1989), the Garnefski and Kraaij Emotion Regulation Scale (2006), and the Ego Strength Scale (PIES). Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (mixed ANOVA with repeated measures) were used for data analysis. SPSS-26 software was used for conducting the statistical tests. Findings: The calculated F-value for the between-group factor was significant at the 0.05 level (P<0.05). Consequently, there was a significant difference between the mean pretest, posttest, and follow-up scores of psychological capital in the experimental and control groups. Bonferroni post-hoc test results also indicated a significant difference between pretest and posttest, and pretest and follow-up scores of ego strength and emotion regulation difficulties in both experimental groups (P<0.05). However, the post-hoc test results showed no significant difference between posttest and follow-up scores of the study variables (P>0.05). The Tukey post-hoc test also indicated no significant difference in the effectiveness of these two approaches (P>0.05). Conclusion: The results demonstrated that both integrated self-analytic approach therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy were significantly effective in improving ego strength and reducing emotion regulation difficulties. These effects were sustained at the follow-up stage, and the effectiveness of the two approaches was identical.
... Interventions were mostly compared to a control group (n = 12, 85.7%), such as a waitlist or no-intervention control (n = 6 out of 12, 50.0%). In six studies (33.3%), individuals received a group psychological intervention with other HCWs [46][47][48][49][50][51], whereas in six studies (33.3%), individuals received 1:1 online or telephone counseling from a therapist [52][53][54][55][56][57]. Interventions were also delivered digitally through developed applications (n = , 16.7%) [58][59][60] including written and audiovisual psychological exercises (e.g., mindfulness, CBT techniques), a developed platform [61] with videos, interactive exercises with written information, a developed website [62] with psychoeducational videos and exercises and a webbased stress management intervention [63] based on ACT as developed by WHO including audiorecordings and illustrated exercises. ...
... • CBT [46,[59][60][61] and ACT [48][49][50]63] resulted in significant improvements in anxiety, depression, insomnia, positive affect, and stress compared to control groups (e.g., waitlist, treatment as usual (TAU)). • Mindfulness exercises [47,52,53,58] resulted in significantly improving depressive symptoms. ...
Undoubtedly, the mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs) was negatively affected because of caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, literature is limited on mapping the challenges and needs of HCWs during COVID-19 pandemic. A widely used framework in public health for mapping evidence includes the socio-ecological models, suggesting behavior can be influenced by individual, interpersonal, organizational, and community factors. The aim of this rapid scoping review was to use the socio-ecological model to map and compile lessons learnt from the literature regarding primarily the challenges and needs and secondly available psychological interventions for HCWs caring for COVID-19 patients. PubMed, CINAHL and Scopus databases were searched, with 21 studies finally included examining challenges and needs of HCWs and 18 studies presenting psychological interventions. Organizational-level challenges and needs such as inadequate staff preparation and supplies of protective equipment, flexible work policies and paid rest periods were the most reported. Individual-level challenges and needs included COVID-19-related fears and reduced mental health, whereas interpersonal-related needs included support provision. Community-level challenges included societal stigma. Certain psychological interventions were found to be promising for HCWs, but these were utilized to address only individual-level challenges and needs. Given that well-being entails an interaction of factors, multi-level interventions addressing multiple socio-ecological levels (interpersonal, organizational, community) and that place HCWs in their social context should be administrated to increase and maintain intervention’ effects long-term and possibly aid in better coping with future pandemics.
... In light of our findings, a possible therapeutic approach would be Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as one of its most important aims is to reduce EA, that is, to teach the person to create a meaningful life by accepting the pain that inevitably comes with it(Hayes et al., 2004). Furthermore, it appears that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is effective in reducing symptomatology in HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic(Otared et al., 2021). In addition, it would be convenient to include other elements in therapy that help build resilience and promote the use of more adaptive ER strategies instead of expressive suppression. ...
Aims
This study explores the mediational role of resilience, experiential avoidance and emotion regulation in the levels of anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) of healthcare workers during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Additionally, we explored the association of such levels with personal and professional variables.
Design
Cross‐sectional study.
Methods
Healthcare professionals working in Spain (N = 786) were recruited following a snowball approach in November and December 2021. Resilience, emotion regulation, experiential avoidance, depression, anxiety, PTSD and work‐related variables were measured. Mean differences and correlations were computed, and a path analysis with latent variables (PALV) model was tested.
Results
In total, 18.8% of the sample scored above the cut‐off score for depression, 24.6% for anxiety and 36.4% for PTSD. Higher resilience and lower experiential avoidance and expression suppression were correlated with better mental health. The PALV model explained 42%–53% of mental health outcomes. Experiential avoidance showed the greatest explanatory power and mediated the impact that stressors had on mental health. Some work‐related variables correlated with greater psychological impact. These factors encompassed being a nurse, feeling that their job remained stressful and had not yet returned to its pre‐pandemic state and having interacted with individuals facing economic difficulties due to the pandemic, and those who had lost their lives to COVID‐19.
Conclusion
Healthcare workers showed high levels of psychological impact during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Such impact was predicted from some work‐stress variables and the reliance on maladaptive strategies such as experiential avoidance and expressive suppression.
Impact
Training healthcare professionals to use coping strategies incompatible with experiential avoidance may improve their mental health. Additionally, better working conditions are fundamental for reducing the impact of critical situations on healthcare workers' mental health.
Patient or Public Contribution
No patient or public contribution.
... Although useful, mindfulness strategies are difficult to scale and may not be always be well received by populations that may benefit from them, such as HCWs. Other interventions with possible utility for treating some of the outcomes associated with SUC, such as burnout, moral injury, and anxiety, include eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (Moench and Billsten, 2021), acceptance and commitment therapy (Otared et al., 2021), app-based technology for monitoring mental health and sleep (Gnanapragasam et al., 2023), and emotional skills training (Ferreres-Galán et al., 2022). It may also be useful to develop prevention strategies that allow HCWs to process the stressors as they are occurring with their colleagues and supervisors. ...
Background
Healthcare workers (HCWs) experienced high levels of stress and mental health consequences associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have contributed to unhealthy coping behaviors, such as substance use coping (SUC). This study aimed to understand the extent of and predictors of SUC.
Methods
The sample consisted of 263 HCWs in North Central Florida. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses investigated whether moral injury and other work risk factors, protective factors, and clinically relevant symptoms (i.e., work exhaustion, interpersonal disengagement, depression, anxiety, and/or PTSD) were associated with likelihood of SUC.
Results
Clinically relevant levels of interpersonal disengagement and anxiety increased the likelihood of SUC. Mediational analyses found that interpersonal disengagement and anxiety explained 54.3% of the relationship between Self Moral Injury and SUC and explained 80.4% of the relationship between professional fulfillment and SUC.
Conclusion
Healthcare supervisors should be aware that providers who are experiencing moral injury and less professional fulfillment may be experiencing significant interpersonal disengagement and anxiety, which could lead to SUC. Future studies should examine the effects of implementing targeted prevention and treatment interventions, along with longitudinal outcomes related to SUC behaviors.
... Although it was not the focal point in this three-way interaction outcome, consistent with conservation of resources theory, it was evident that individuals with high levels of both selfcompassion and perceived social support displayed fewer PTSD symptoms, as illustrated in Figure 1. Consequently, implementing programs to bolster both resources, such as group-based mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) or group-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), could optimize the unique benefits of both external and internal resources [66,67]. ...
The purpose of this study was to test if perceived social support and self-compassion will interact to reduce the magnitude of the bivariate relationship (buffering effect) between cumulative trauma and trauma symptoms after controlling for gender and age among college students. As part of a broader research project conducted between 2018 and 2019, we collected data via online surveys from a sample of 551 undergraduate students at a public university in the southern region of the US. After data cleaning, the study included 538 participants (representing 97.6% of the original dataset), ensuring a diverse representation across various ethnicities and genders. The three-way interaction model accounted for 38.61% of the variance in PTSD symptoms. In detail, with high levels of perceived social support, there was a significant difference in the buffering effects of perceived social support on the trauma–PTSD association between high and low self-compassion. Conversely, at high levels of self-compassion, perceived social support did not significantly influence the buffering effect of self-compassion. This study underscores the critical role of self-compassion in enhancing the protective effect of high-level perceived social support against PTSD symptoms following cumulative trauma.
... Adicionalmente, se cuenta con algunos estudios que han mostrado resultados prometedores de ACT en formato virtual para diversas problemáticas relacionadas con la ansiedad, la depresión, los problemas de salud, abandono del tabaquismo y el bienestar en jóvenes (Brown et al., 2016;Dahlin et al., 2016;Hesser et al., 2012;Jones et al., 2015;Lappalainen et al., 2014;Otared et al., 2021;Pots et al., 2016;Räsänen et al., 2016;Trompetter et al., 2015). ...
Antecedentes
: en la actualidad, son escasas las intervenciones para el manejo de la regulación problemática de la ira y la inflexibilidad psicológica en adultos jóvenes afectados.
Objetivo
: evaluar la eficacia de una intervención breve, en formato grupal y virtual para la regulación problemática de la ira y la reducción de la inflexibilidad psicológica.
Método
: un grupo de 40 adultos jóvenes colombianos (40% hombres; 60% mujeres; M = 25.3 años; DE = 3.35) fueron asignados aleatoriamente a una de dos condiciones: intervención basada en la terapia de aceptación y compromiso (ACT) para regulación de la ira y la reducción de la inflexibilidad psicológica y lista de espera. Se evaluaron la evitación experiencial, la fusión cognitiva, la conexión con el momento presente, los valores y la percepción de efectos de la expresión problemática de la ira. Resultados: se encontraron diferencias significativas con tamaños de efecto grandes en las variables de evitación experiencial, defusión cognitiva, contacto con el momento presente y obstrucción en valores. Las variables de progreso en valores y percepción de efectos de la ira presentaron cambios en el grupo experimental, pero no en su comparación con el grupo control.
Conclusión
: los resultados aportaron evidencia sobre la eficacia de esta intervención, aunque se requieren más estudios que así lo confirmen.
... Figure 2 shows the risk bias assessment for the included studies. All the studies presented low risk for bias except for one, which showed unclear risk of bias in three of the six assessed areas (Otared et al., 2021). In general, there is a clear explanation about the entire research procedure (recruitment, group allocation, intervention, data extraction and statistical analysis) followed by the studies included in this review. ...
... Especially, longitudinal studies to ensure longterm effects and demonstrate that mental health programs could be a beneficial organization investment (Søvold et al., 2021). Some of these programs were oriented to well-being rather than removing symptoms, supporting the WHO concept of health to achieve longterm effectiveness results (Ferreres et al., 2022;Gnanapragasam et al., 2022;Moench & Billsten, 2021;Otared et al., 2021;Yildirim & Yildiz, 2022). ...
... studies used web applications to deliver psychological interventions (Fiol-DeRoque et al., 2021; Ghazanfarpour et al., 2021;Gnanapragasam et al., 2022;Gupta et al., 2021;Otared et al., 2021).Two studies did not show significant differences between groups for the primary outcomes(Fiol-DeRoque et al., 2021;Gupta et al., 2021).Fiol-DeRoque et al. (2021) used the PsyCovidApp, a selfmanaged psychoeducational intervention focused on working emotional skills, health lifestyle behaviour, social support, work stress and burnout. Control group used an informational mental healthcare application during COVID-19 pandemic. ...
Healthcare professionals were especially vulnerable to pandemic, both to become infected and to develop a psychological problem. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the effectiveness of psychological interventions for healthcare professionals in reducing the experienced psychological impact. From the 405 identified studies, 10 were included in this review. Four databases were searched and the risk of bias of included studies was assessed. The studies considered were randomized controlled trials. The screening and selection process was conducted by two independent reviewers. All studies presented results related with depression, anxiety, and stress during pandemic. Six were delivered using new technologies. The most effective were two psychological interventions with frequent contact and feedback provided by a mental health professional. The psychological interventions compared with non-intervention groups presented more significant results than those compared with another intervention. The highlights of this systematic review were the urgency of designing effectiveness psychological interventions for healthcare professionals to reduce the emotional burden associate with this job. These interventions should be maintained over the time, supported by a professional and provided from the workplace. These proposals presented promising results but were more psychological resources than psychological interventions.
... Moreover, the principles addressed in this method are composed of concepts, attitudes, skills, strengths, and positive schemas or beliefs that contribute to improving happiness, well-being, and sustainable life satisfaction. CASIO provides five concepts for creating satisfaction in these areas, based on achieving satisfaction between what an individual wants and what they have, thereby enhancing life quality (Bai et al., 2022;Otared et al., 2021). ...
The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of quality of life therapy training in improving psychological capital and emotion regulation among mothers of patients with neurological and mental disorders in Isfahan city. The statistical population consisted of all mothers of patients with neurological and mental disorders who had files at the Nooralmahdi Rehabilitation Center in Isfahan. The sample of this study included 30 mothers of patients with neurological and mental disorders who met the research entry criteria and were then randomly assigned to either the control or experimental group. While the control group was on the waiting list, the experimental group received the quality of life therapy package in 8 sessions of 90 minutes each. The research tools were the Luthans Psychological Capital Questionnaire (2007) and the Garnefski Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (2001). Both groups were assessed in two stages, pre-test and post-test. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (multivariate analysis of covariance) were used for data analysis and examination. The results indicated that psychological capital and its dimensions significantly improved, but emotion regulation did not change in either the adaptive or maladaptive dimensions. According to the findings of this study, it can be said that quality of life therapy training is effective for improving the psychological capital of mothers of patients with neurological and mental disorders, but other complementary psychological interventions are needed to improve emotion regulation in both adaptive and maladaptive dimensions.
... Moreover, the principles addressed in this method are composed of concepts, attitudes, skills, strengths, and positive schemas or beliefs that contribute to improving happiness, well-being, and sustainable life satisfaction. CASIO provides five concepts for creating satisfaction in these areas, based on achieving satisfaction between what an individual wants and what they have, thereby enhancing life quality (Bai et al., 2022;Otared et al., 2021). ...
The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of quality of life therapy training in improving psychological capital and emotion regulation among mothers of patients with neurological and mental disorders in Isfahan city. The statistical population consisted of all mothers of patients with neurological and mental disorders who had files at the Nooralmahdi Rehabilitation Center in Isfahan. The sample of this study included 30 mothers of patients with neurological and mental disorders who met the research entry criteria and were then randomly assigned to either the control or experimental group. While the control group was on the waiting list, the experimental group received the quality of life therapy package in 8 sessions of 90 minutes each. The research tools were the Luthans Psychological Capital Questionnaire (2007) and the Garnefski Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (2001). Both groups were assessed in two stages, pre-test and post-test. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (multivariate analysis of covariance) were used for data analysis and examination. The results indicated that psychological capital and its dimensions significantly improved, but emotion regulation did not change in either the adaptive or maladaptive dimensions. According to the findings of this study, it can be said that quality of life therapy training is effective for improving the psychological capital of mothers of patients with neurological and mental disorders, but other complementary psychological interventions are needed to improve emotion regulation in both adaptive and maladaptive dimensions.