The Impact of Group Therapy Based on Acceptance and Commitment on Psychological Indicators (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress) in Women with Fibromyalgia

Aim and Comorbidity of psychological disorders is very common in patients with chronic pain, including patients with fibromyalgia; it is in a range of depression, anxiety, stress, disappointment, failure, and anger, and accompanied with psychological consequences such as sleep disturbances, disruptions in daily functions, and worries about the future. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of group-based acceptance and commitment therapy on depression, anxiety, and stress in women with fibromyalgia.
Methods and Materials: This study was quasi-experimental study with pretest, posttest, and follow-up, and control group. Among the patients referring to medical centers affiliated to in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2016, 24 patients with fibromyalgia syndrome were selected through convenient sampling method, and randomly divided into two groups. The instrument of this study was a short form of Depression, Anxiety, and Psychological Stress Scale (DASS-21). The experimental group received the therapy based on acceptance and commitment during 8 sessions of 2 hours. The covariance analysis method was used to analyze the data.
Findings: Acceptance and commitment therapy in women with fibromyalgia is more effective to control the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, compared to the control group (P Group therapy based on acceptance and commitment can reduce the psychological damage in patients and increase their life-richness, in spite of pain and illness, through the creation and development of acceptance and increasing value-based practices.