The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Reducing the Depression and Improving the Quality of Life in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Background & Aims : This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on reducing depression and improving the quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Materials & Methods : This was a quasi-experimental study with the pre-test post-test control group design. The study population consisted of all people with MS who were registered in the MS Society of Sanandaj in 2017 (N = 40). Twenty patients who had higher depression scores and lower quality of life scores were selected by purposive sampling. The participants were randomly assigned to either experimental group or control group (n=10 per group). Patients allocated to the experimental group were treated individually for 10 sessions once a week for three months. Patients in the control group did not receive any intervention. The data were collected using the Beck depression inventory-II and the World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS and multivariate analysis of covariance. Results : ACT had a significant effect on reducing depression and improving the quality of life in patients with MS (p <0.05). Conclusion : It could be concluded that ACT was effective in reducing depression and improving the quality of life in patients with MS.