Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Patients With Depression

ABSTRACT Objectives The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical utility of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in the treatment of depression in Pakistan. Materials and Methods A quasi‐experimental study design was employed to assess the effectiveness of ACT in treating depression. Participants were selected through purposive sampling and consisted of consecutive patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder who were referred from psychiatry departments. The intervention group received ACT therapy, whereas the control group underwent a waitlist period during which no therapy was provided. ACT was subsequently given to this group after the post‐assessment phase. Three outcome measures were used, including the Siddiqui Shah Depression Scale (SSDS), Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire‐7 (CFQ‐7) and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire‐II (AAQ‐II). The study comprised three phases: pre‐assessment, therapy intervention and post‐assessment. The Wilcoxon signed‐rank test was employed for within‐group analysis, and the Mann–Whitney U ‐test was applied to post‐assessment scores to evaluate between‐group differences. Results Twenty patients participated in the study, with 10 assigned to the ACT group and 10 to the control group. Within‐group analysis revealed significant reductions in depression severity ( p = 0.005), cognitive fusion ( p = 0.005) and experiential avoidance ( p = 0.005) among the experimental group receiving ACT therapy. In the control group, there was no significant change in depression severity ( p = 0.072), but significant changes were observed in cognitive fusion ( p = 0.044) and experiential avoidance ( p = 0.005). Between‐group analysis showed that the ACT group had significantly lower scores in depression severity, cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance ( p < 0.001 for all comparisons) compared with the control group. Conclusion The study provides evidence supporting the effectiveness of ACT in treating depression in Pakistan. The findings suggest that ACT effectively reduces depression severity, cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance in patients with depression. ACT can serve as a suitable therapeutic approach for individuals with depression in the cultural context of Pakistan.