The British journal of clinical psychology / the British Psychological Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Brief group-based acceptance and commitment therapy for stroke survivors.
To date, the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for stroke survivors has not been established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of group-based ACT for stroke survivors in comparison with treatment as usual (TAU) controls. ⋯ Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), delivered didactically to groups of stroke survivors, proved feasible and acceptable. ACT had benefits, relative to treatment as usual, for depression, health status, and hope. Several secondary outcome variables did not show dependable benefit for ACT: anxiety; health-related quality of life; and mental well-being. Results should be treated as preliminary as the sample size was small, blinding was not possible, concomitant treatments were not monitored, and there was no attention control condition. Despite these limitations, group-based ACT merits further study as a potentially effective intervention.