Comparison of CFT- ACT Combined Therapy with CBT on Psychological Well- Being in Diabetic Women

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of compassion focused (CFT) and acceptance commitment (ACT) combined therapy with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), on psychological well-being in women with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Materials and Methods: This is quasi-experimental. This study consists of three groups (two experimental and one control groups) and three stages (pre-test, post-test, and follow up). The statistical population was all T2DM women of Shahid Shabani Diabetes Center in Isfahan, Iran in 2017. The studied sample was 47 patients who were randomly distributed in three groups. The experimental group received a combination of the package of ACT and CFT for ten weekly two-hour sessions, the CBT group received ten weekly two-hour sessions of therapeutic intervention and the control group did not receive any therapeutic interventions. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance with repeated measurements using SPSS-24 software.

Results: The results showed that the scores of experimental groups participants in the post test of compassion therapy-ACT and CBT improved significantly compared to the control group in self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, purposeful life, individual development, environmental dominance and autonomy subscales (P-value= 0.001) .There exist a significant difference  between the experimental group of compassion focused- ACT combined therapy and CBT in self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, purposeful life and individual -development  subscales (P-value< 0.001).

Conclusion: Based on the findings, the combination therapy of compassion focused – ACT and CBT can be used to promote psychological well-being in diabetic patients.