Fatemeh Asadollahi; Hamid Taher Neshat Doost; Mohamad Reza Abedi; Hamid Afshar
Abstract
The aim of the present study was comparing the effect of the combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) with Cognitive-Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) on depressive symptoms, quality of life, psychological flexibility, and self-compassion ...
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The aim of the present study was comparing the effect of the combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) with Cognitive-Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) on depressive symptoms, quality of life, psychological flexibility, and self-compassion in women with persistent depressive disorder. The research design is quasi-experimental and pretest-posttest and a two-month follow-up assessment have been conducted. The convenience sampling method was used to select 24 patients with persistent depression and then they randomly assigned to two experimental groups. Each experimental group received 14 sessions of treatment and completed Beck Depression Inventory-II, World Health Organization Questionnaire on Quality of Life, Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire, and Self-Compassion Scales in pretest, posttest and follow-up. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze data. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups, which means that the scores of these four variables changed over time in both groups in the same way. More accurate analyzes show that each of the therapies has been effective in improving the four studied variables during research phases. These findings indicate that combination therapy can be as effective as Cognitive-Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy as a validated treatment for persistent depression and both treatments can be used as adjunctive therapies in addition to pharmacotherapy for people with persistent depressive disorder.
