An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) group intervention for cancer survivors experiencing anxiety at re-entry

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 610-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna J. Arch ◽  
Jill L. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Survivors ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment Therapy ◽  
Group Intervention ◽  
Commitment Therapy ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment

Behavioral Activation and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in the Treatment of Anxiety and Depression in Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Clinical Trial

2020 ◽  
pp. 014544552091644
Author(s):  
Concepción Fernández-Rodríguez ◽  
Sonia González-Fernández ◽  
Rocío Coto-Lesmes ◽  
Ignacio Pedrosa
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Survivors ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment Therapy ◽  
Experiential Avoidance ◽  
Behavioral Activation ◽  
Emotional Problems ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Behavioural Activation ◽  
Commitment Therapy ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment

Behavioural Activation (BA) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) aim to reduce the inflexible avoidance of painful thoughts, feelings and memories and to encourage involvement in relevant activities, objectives which are clearly relevant to the situation of cancer survivors with emotional problems. With a view to evaluating and comparing the efficacy of both therapies, applied on a group basis, a randomized controlled trial was developed. Cancer survivors (age 18–65 years) with anxiety and/or depression were assigned at random to two experimental groups (BA; ACT) and a waiting list control group (WL). Of the 66 cancer survivors randomized to trial (intention-to-treat sample), 46 participants ( M = 51.49; SD = 6.88) completed the intervention (BA, n = 17; ACT, n = 12; WL, n = 17) (per-protocol sample). The emotional state, experiential avoidance and behavioural activation of the participants was evaluated in the pre- and post-treatment and in a 3-month follow-up using standardized instruments. Both treatment groups showed statistically significant changes, indicating an improvement in all the result variables in the post-treatment and follow-up as compared to the pre-treatment. BA showed better results than ACT regarding impact on anxiety and activation. This greater efficacy may have been due to factors such as the emphasis placed in BA on behavioural activation and the central role played in it by functional analysis. The key role played by experiential avoidance and behavioral activation in the maintenance and treatment of emotional problems in cancer survivors is discussed. Raw data are available online ( http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/m7w688khs8.1 )

Brain injury spousal caregivers’ experiences of an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) group

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Williams ◽  
Frances Vaughan ◽  
Jaci Huws ◽  
Richard Hastings
Keyword(s):  
Brain Injury ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment Therapy ◽  
Group Intervention ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Spousal Caregivers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Awareness ◽  
Commitment Therapy ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the experiences of acquired brain injury (ABI) family caregivers who attended an acceptance based group intervention. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative design and interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology were used. Findings – Five key themes were identified: increasing personal awareness; the dialectic of emotional acceptance vs emotional avoidance; integration of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) principles; peer support; and moving forward after the group. It seemed that some individuals found the ACT exercises distressing, whereas others reported benefits. All participants described experiences of acceptance vs avoidant means of coping, and attempts to integrate new approaches into existing belief systems. Originality/value – This study is the first to explore the experiences of ABI caregivers undertaking an ACT group intervention.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document