Introduction: Cardiovascular patients experience various psychological problems due to the conditions caused by their disease, which make it worse if left untreated.
Objective: The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of acceptance and commitment therapy 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 two-month and four-month follow-up periods accompanying a control group. At four stages, patients filled out questionnaires on depression, anxiety, stress (DASS-21), emotion regulation (ERQ), and self-compassion (SCS). The experimental group underwent a treatment protocol based on acceptance and commitment therapy. Data were then analyzed using SPSS-25 with repeated measures analysis of variance.
Results: Act significantly reduced depression, anxiety, and stress, enhanced self-compassion, and improved emotion regulation in cardiac patients. Between-subjects (Group) partial etas 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 during the 2- and 6-month follow-up visits.
Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that treating cardiac patients' psychological problems in a way focused on acceptance and commitment therapy may have an impact on how well they respond to their treatment.
Keywords: Acceptance and commitment therapy; cardiovascular; distress; emotion regulation; self-compassion.