Compare the Effectiveness of Group Therapy Based on Acceptance and Commitment and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Reducing Anxiety of Mothers of Autistic Children

This study investigated the effectiveness of group therapy based on acceptance and commitment (ACT) compared with cognitive-behavior therapy on decreasing anxiety and increasing acceptance of mothers of autistic children. This study was quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test with control group. The experimental groups were consisted of two groups based on acceptance and commitment group therapy (ACT) and cognitive- behavioral therapy (CBT) respectively. Both groups were received ten sessions treatment. 12 people were employed in the control group who were not treated. In order to evaluate the level of anxiety and acceptance, two questionnaires were used: Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II). Comparing treatment groups showed that between the effectiveness of group therapy based on acceptance and commitment with cognitive behavioral therapy on reducing maternal anxiety and promoting acceptance was not significantly different. However, the impact of group therapy based on acceptance and commitment in pre-test and follow-up was more than cognitive behavior therapy. Therefore, the current research and ACT provide empirical support for mothers with ASD children.