To Compare of the Effectiveness of training based on “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy” and “Compassion Focused Therapy” on Self-efficacy, Quality of Relations and Meaning in Life in Infertile Women

Abstract Introduction: Infertility and the therapeutic course of therapies have devastating effects on the mental and physical health of some infertile people, especially women. Supportive-psychological interventions will promote the health of infertile women. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) therapy on self-efficacy, quality of relationships and meaning of life in infertile women. Methods: This study was a semi-experimental design with pretest-posttest design with control group. The statistical population consisted of infertile women referred to the Mehr private infertility treatment clinic in summer of 2017 in Rasht. A total of 45 people were selected through purposive sampling method and then randomly assigned to three groups. Data were collected from the “Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale”, “Quality of Relationship Inventory” and the “Meaning in Life Questionnaire”. The validity of the instruments was reviewed and approved in previous studies. In the present study, reliability of the instruments was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha. One of the experimental groups received training on the basis of “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy during the eight sessions, and the other group received training based on “Compassion Focused Therapy” for eight sessions. The control group did not receive any training. Data analysis was performed using SPSS.21. Results: Two effective treatments are self-efficacy, improving the quality of relationships, and promoting the meaning of life in infertile women. Therefore, education based on both therapeutic methods as an effective intervention method is recommended for empowerment and promotion of infertile women's health. There was a significant difference between the mean of self-efficacy, the quality of relationships and its sub-scales, and the meaning of life and its dimensions in the experimental and control groups in the post-test (P≤0.01). However, there was no significant difference between the two experimental groups. Conclusions: Two effective treatments are self-efficacy, improving the quality of relationships, and promoting the meaning of life in infertile women. Therefore, education based on both therapeutic methods as an effective intervention method is recommended for empowerment and promotion of infertile women's health.