Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for distress, emotion regulation, and self-compassion in patients with cardiovascular disease: a randomized clinical trial

Abstract Objective: Cardiovascular patients experience various psychological problems due to the conditions caused by their disease, making it worse if left untreated. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on distress, emotion regula...

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Main Authors: Arash Fattahi, Fatemeh Mazini, Nasrin Jaberghaderi, Fatemeh Rajabi, Mehdi Derakhshani, Mohammad Laki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Associação de Psiquiatria do Rio Grande do Sul 2025-04-01
Series:Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2237-60892025000100502&lng=en&tlng=en
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author Arash Fattahi
Fatemeh Mazini
Nasrin Jaberghaderi
Fatemeh Rajabi
Mehdi Derakhshani
Mohammad Laki
author_facet Arash Fattahi
Fatemeh Mazini
Nasrin Jaberghaderi
Fatemeh Rajabi
Mehdi Derakhshani
Mohammad Laki
author_sort Arash Fattahi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objective: Cardiovascular patients experience various psychological problems due to the conditions caused by their disease, making it worse if left untreated. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on distress, emotion regulation, and self-compassion in patients with cardiovascular disease. Methods: This study was a randomized clinical trial with pre-test, post-test, and 2-month and 4-month follow-up periods accompanying a control group and an experimental group. Patients filled out questionnaires at four stages; a Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), an Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and a Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). The experimental group underwent a treatment protocol based on ACT. Data were then analyzed using SPSS-25 with repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: ACT significantly reduced depression, anxiety, and stress, enhanced self-compassion, and improved emotion regulation in cardiac patients. Between-subjects (group) partial Eta squared (η²) for depression, anxiety, stress, reappraisal, suppression, and self-compassion were 0.61, 0.64, 0.66, 0.62, 0.66, and 0.65, respectively. Treatment efficacy was maintained at the 2-month and 6-month follow-up visits. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that treating cardiac patients’ psychological problems in an ACT-focused manner may have an impact on how well they respond to their treatment.
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spelling doaj-art-985cc04c2a704d4ea2da8d31e66d631a2025-08-20T03:17:03ZengAssociação de Psiquiatria do Rio Grande do SulTrends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy2238-00192025-04-014710.47626/2237-6089-2023-0685Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for distress, emotion regulation, and self-compassion in patients with cardiovascular disease: a randomized clinical trialArash FattahiFatemeh MaziniNasrin Jaberghaderihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7675-1287Fatemeh RajabiMehdi Derakhshanihttps://orcid.org/0009-0000-3864-3800Mohammad LakiAbstract Objective: Cardiovascular patients experience various psychological problems due to the conditions caused by their disease, making it worse if left untreated. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on distress, emotion regulation, and self-compassion in patients with cardiovascular disease. Methods: This study was a randomized clinical trial with pre-test, post-test, and 2-month and 4-month follow-up periods accompanying a control group and an experimental group. Patients filled out questionnaires at four stages; a Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), an Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and a Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). The experimental group underwent a treatment protocol based on ACT. Data were then analyzed using SPSS-25 with repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: ACT significantly reduced depression, anxiety, and stress, enhanced self-compassion, and improved emotion regulation in cardiac patients. Between-subjects (group) partial Eta squared (η²) for depression, anxiety, stress, reappraisal, suppression, and self-compassion were 0.61, 0.64, 0.66, 0.62, 0.66, and 0.65, respectively. Treatment efficacy was maintained at the 2-month and 6-month follow-up visits. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that treating cardiac patients’ psychological problems in an ACT-focused manner may have an impact on how well they respond to their treatment.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2237-60892025000100502&lng=en&tlng=enAcceptance and commitment therapydistressemotion regulationself-compassioncardiovascular
spellingShingle Arash Fattahi
Fatemeh Mazini
Nasrin Jaberghaderi
Fatemeh Rajabi
Mehdi Derakhshani
Mohammad Laki
Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for distress, emotion regulation, and self-compassion in patients with cardiovascular disease: a randomized clinical trial
Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
Acceptance and commitment therapy
distress
emotion regulation
self-compassion
cardiovascular
title Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for distress, emotion regulation, and self-compassion in patients with cardiovascular disease: a randomized clinical trial
title_full Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for distress, emotion regulation, and self-compassion in patients with cardiovascular disease: a randomized clinical trial
title_fullStr Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for distress, emotion regulation, and self-compassion in patients with cardiovascular disease: a randomized clinical trial
title_full_unstemmed Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for distress, emotion regulation, and self-compassion in patients with cardiovascular disease: a randomized clinical trial
title_short Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for distress, emotion regulation, and self-compassion in patients with cardiovascular disease: a randomized clinical trial
title_sort effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for distress emotion regulation and self compassion in patients with cardiovascular disease a randomized clinical trial
topic Acceptance and commitment therapy
distress
emotion regulation
self-compassion
cardiovascular
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2237-60892025000100502&lng=en&tlng=en
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