Effectiveness of Group Therapy Based on Acceptance and Commitment on the Severity of Fatigue and Depression With the Moderating role of Alexithymia in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Background: Alexithymia is a symptom that most psychosomatic patients experience and can affect their performance, psychological state, and the severity of their physical symptoms. Therefore, we aimed to determine the effectiveness of group therapy based on acceptance and commitment on the severity of fatigue and depression with the moderating role of alexithymia in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Tehran. Methods: In this research, a semi-experimental pre-test post-test design was used with three months of follow-up. Using convenience sampling, 40 patients with MS were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. Before and after the intervention and three months later in the follow-up phase, all participants responded to fatigue severity, depression, and alexithymia questionnaires. The intervention consisted of ten 90-minute group therapy sessions based on acceptance and commitment, which was performed only for the experimental group. Results: Analysis of covariance indicated a significant difference between the mean scores of fatigue severity, depression, and alexithymia in the experimental and control groups in post-test and follow-up stages. Conclusion: Group therapy based on acceptance and commitment with the moderating role of alexithymia effectively reduced the severity of fatigue and depression in patients with MS.

Keywords

• acceptance and commitment therapy
• severity of fatigue
• depression
• alexithymia
• multiple sclerosis