Effect of a group-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention on self-esteem and psychological
Jun-Yan Shi1, Yan-Mei Cao2, Hou-Yuan Luo3
1School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, People's Republic of China; Department of Medical Psychology, Mental Health Hospital affiliated to Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
The present study explored whether acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), a cognitive behavioral therapy approach, could improve the symptoms of schizophrenia spectrum disorders among patients with schizophrenia in remission. A pre- and post-treatment design with two evaluation time points was employed. Sixty outpatients with schizophrenia in remission were randomly divided into two groups: the ACT plus treatment as usual (ACT+TAU) and treatment as usual (TAU) groups. The ACT+TAU group participated in 10 group-based ACT interventions and TAU in the hospital, and the TAU group only received TAU interventions. General psycho-pathological symptoms, self-esteem, and psychological flexibility were assessed before intervention (baseline; pre-test) and after intervention (five weeks; post-test). Results indicated that, compared to the TAU group, the ACT+TAU group exhibited a more significant improvement in general psychopathological symptoms, self-esteem, cognitive fusion, and acceptance and action at post-test. ACT intervention could effectively decrease the general psycho-pathological symptoms and increase self-esteem level and psychological flexibility in people with schizophrenia in remission.
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