The Effectiveness of Group Counseling based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Marital Stress and Psychological Hardiness in Mothers of Children with Profound and Multiple Disabilities

The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of group counseling based on acceptance and commitment therapy on marital stress and psychological resilience in mothers of children with severe and multiple disabilities. This applied research was part of a semi-experimental research with a pre-test-post-test design and a follow-up with a control group. The statistical population included all mothers of children with severe and multiple disabilities who were present in the association for resuscitation in 2020-2021 and comprised 50 subjects. Using the method of available and voluntary samples, 24 people were selected and randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group received 12 sessions of group counseling, whereas the control group was placed on the waiting list for ethical reasons. The Stockholm Marital Stress Scale (SMSS) and the Long and Goulet Psychological Hardiness (LGHS) were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance with repeated measures using SPSS-25 statistical software. The results showed that group counseling based on acceptance and commitment therapy led to a significant decrease in marital stress and a significant increase in psychological hardiness in the experimental group. These results remained stable during the one-month follow-up period. Thus, it can be said that this intervention improves marital stress and psychological resilience in mothers of severely and multiply disabled children. Based on the results of this study, group counseling based on acceptance and commitment therapy can be used to improve marital stress and psychological resilience of mothers of children with severe and multiple disabilities.