Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Experiential Avoidance and Self-care in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Ebrahimpour Azizi, Mehdi; Hajloo, Nader; Baghbanian, Mohammad

doi:10.22059/japr.2026.372422.644862

Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Experiential Avoidance and Self-care in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Mehdi Ebrahimpour Azizi ¹

Nader Hajloo ²

Mohammad Baghbanian ³

¹ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

² Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

³ Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Mohaghegh Mazandaran, Sari, Iran.

10.22059/japr.2026.372422.644862

Abstract

Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on experiential avoidance and self-care in patients with multiple sclerosis. The research method was a semi-experimental design with the pretest-posttest control group. The study's statistical population included MS patients in Mazandaran province in the autumn of 2023. Thirty-six MS patients were selected voluntarily and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received Compassion-Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention in 10 sessions of 90 minutes over two and a half months. The Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), and self-care questionnaire were used in this study. The data were analyzed using multivariate delete "analysis of "analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) insert "analysis "analysis with SPSS-27 software. The results indicated that Compassion-Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy significantly affected experiential avoidance and self-care in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (p < 0.05).
Keywords: Compassion-Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Experiential avoidance, Self-care, Multiple Sclerosis

Keywords

Compassion-Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Experiential avoidance

Multiple Sclerosis

Self-care