The Effectiveness of Virtual Acceptance and Commitment Group Therapy on Mental Health in Women with Corona Anxiety undergoing Covid-19 Treatment

Shomali Ahmadabadi, Mehdi; Barkhordari Ahmadabadi, Atefe; Zabihi, Mohsen

doi:10.18502/aptj.v2i1.10656

The Effectiveness of Virtual Acceptance and Commitment Group Therapy on Mental Health in Women with Corona Anxiety undergoing Covid-19 Treatment

Document Type : Clinical Trial

Authors

Mehdi Shomali Ahmadabadi

Atefe Barkhordari Ahmadabadi

Mohsen Zabihi

Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences and Health services, Yazd, Iran

10.18502/aptj.v2i1.10656

Abstract

The prevalence of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been associated with many psychological problems and concerns. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual acceptance and commitment group therapy on mental health in women undergoing Covid-19 treatment. This study was a randomized controlled trial and a quasi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design. The statistical population included women undergoing Covid-19 treatment living in Ardakan, Yazd, Iran. Eighteen participants were randomly and equally divided into two groups of 9 cases, including the experimental and control groups. The participants answered the Lovibond Psychological Questionnaire (1995) in the pre-test and post-test stages. The experimental group received virtual-based acceptance and commitment group therapy intervention in 8 one-hour sessions, two sessions per week.
In contrast, the control group did not receive any intervention during the study. Finally, the data were analyzed by the covariance analysis method at the significance level of 0.05. The results showed that the mean score of mental health and its dimensions (depression, anxiety, and stress) in the experimental group compared to the control group decreased significantly in the post-test stage (P<0.001). According to the research results, virtual acceptance and commitment to group therapy can effectively reduce the psychological problems of people suffering from COVID-19.

Keywords

COVID-19

Mental health

Acceptance and Commitment

Group therapy

Depression

Anxiety

Stress