The Effectiveness of an Internet based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in reducing depressive symptoms of students

The aim of the present study is to evaluate effectiveness of in Internet based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in reducing depression symptoms of students. This was a quasi-experimental study using a pretest, posttest, and follow-up control group. The research used an available purposeful sampling method. Of the University students who administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), 36 students found were to have depressive symptoms. These students were randomly selected and divided to experimental (N=18, two students did not continue) and control (N=18) groups. 8 sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy (two face-to-face sessions and six the Internet based sessions with the support of therapist) were offered to the participants in the experimental group. The results of both groups were examined at pre-test, post-test and at two month follow-up using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II).Data were analyzed using analysis of variance with repeated measures by statistical software SPSS-22. The results showed that the ACT internet based intervention significantly group on depressive symptoms at posttest and follow up stages and increased score on psychological flexibility while comparing to control group. AnInternet based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention with the support of therapist can be effective in reducing depressive symptoms and increasing psychological flexibility.