Efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy on reducing stress, depression and anxiety in patients with gastrointestinal and skin disorders

Background and Aim: The presence of variables such as stress, depression and anxiety can overshadow the life of any individual and deviate them from the main path and consequently, from achieving their goals. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of commitment  and acceptance based therapy (ACT) on reducing stress, depression and anxiety in people with gastrointestinal and skin disorders. Methods: The research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design, utilizing a control group. The recraited population included all patients with skin and hair disorders, as well as gastrointestinal disorders of psychosomatic origin who visited the clinics of internal medicine physicians and dermatologists and the clinics and hospitals in Bukan in 2019. Among 30 patients who had the highest score in the short form of DASS-21 Depression, Anxiety and Stress Questionnaire were purposefully selected and then randomly divided into experimental (15) and control groups (15). The protocol of ACT sessions based on Hayes's (2002) approach was administered to the experimental group for eight 1.5 hour sessions in one month, two sessions per week. The data were analyzed by SPSS software using covariance analysis. Results: The results showed that there was a significant difference between the means of the experimental and control groups in the variables of stress, depression and anxiety. In fact, ACT reduced the mean stress (7.47±1.959), depression (6.47±1.187), and anxiety (6.67±1.345) in the posttest stage. Conclusion: Considering the efficacy of this type of treatment, this program is deemed to be a good option for therapists who work in counseling centers and psychological clinics.