• Andrés Losada, María Márquez-González, Rosa Romero-Moreno, Brent T Mausbach, Javier López, Virginia Fernández-Fernández, and Celia Nogales-González.
• Psychology Department, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos.
• J Consult Clin Psychol. 2015 Aug 1; 83 (4): 760-72.

ObjectiveThe differential efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for dementia family caregivers' is analyzed through a randomized controlled trial.MethodParticipants were 135 caregivers with high depressive symptomatology who were randomly allocated to the intervention conditions or a control group (CG). Pre-, postintervention, and follow-up measurements assessed depressive symptomatology, anxiety, leisure, dysfunctional thoughts, and experiential avoidance.ResultsDepression: Significant effects of interventions compared with CG were found for CBT (p < .001, d = 0.98, number needed to treat [NNT] = 3.61) and ACT (p < .001, d = 1.17, NNT = 3.53) at postintervention, but were maintained only at follow-up for CBT (p = .02, d = 0.74, NNT = 9.71). Clinically significant change was observed in 26.7% participants in CBT, 24.2% in ACT, and 0% in CG. At follow-up, 10.53% in CBT and 4% in ACT were recovered (0% CG). Anxiety: At postintervention, ACT participants showed lower anxiety than CBT participants (p < .05, d = 0.50) and CG participants (p < .01, d = 0.79, NNT = 3.86), with no effects at follow-up. At postintervention, 23.33% in CBT, 36.36% in ACT, and 6.45% in CG showed clinically significant change. At follow-up, 26.32% in CBT, 36% in ACT, and 13.64% in CG were recovered. Significant changes at postintervention were found in leisure and dysfunctional thoughts in both ACT and CBT, with changes in experiential avoidance only for ACT.ConclusionSimilar results were obtained for ACT and CBT. ACT seems to be a viable and effective treatment for dementia caregivers.(c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

23 keywords...

hide…