Comparing the Effectiveness of Positive Psychotherapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Depression and Affective Capital of Depressed Women

Depression is one of the most common disorders in women. This disorder can severely affect womenchr('39')s performance. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy and acceptance and commitment therapy on affective capital and depression in depressed women.

The research method is quasi-experimental with three groups in three stages: pre-test, post-test and follow-up. The statistical population of the study included depressed women in Isfahan in autumn and winter of 2019 and 2020. From the statistical population, 60 women were selected through purposive sampling and then randomly assigned to two experimental groups (20 people in each group) and control group (20 people). Affective Capital Questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory were used to measure the dependent variable. Positive psychotherapy group and acceptance and commitment treatment were treated in 14 and 13 sessions respectively, and the control group did not receive any treatment. Data were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc test.

The results indicated that, there was a significant difference in affective capital and depression between the positive psychotherapy group and the acceptance and commitment treatment group with the control group (P <0.01). There is no significant difference between the two treatment groups in affective capital and depression (P >0.05).

Considering the effect of positive psychotherapy and acceptance and commitment based therapy on increasing affective capital and reducing depression in depressed women, the use of these two therapies in counseling and psychological treatment centers is suggested.