Effect of Acceptance and Commitment Group Therapy on Quality of Life and Resilience of Women With Breast Cancer

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer diagnosis always causes a great deal of stress and results in significant changes in the patient’s routine life, which—apart from physical injuries—can lead to loss of social functioning and increased risk of mental disorders. Psychological resilience may be a protective factor in dealing with stressful clinical situations. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of acceptance and commitment group therapy on the quality of life and resilience of women with breast cancer.Methods: This study had a quasi-experimental, pre-post intervention design with a control group. Twenty women with breast cancer (stages I or II) were randomly assigned to an intervention or a control group. The intervention consisted of eight weekly sessions of acceptance and commitment group therapy. Follow-up evaluations were carried out two months after the intervention. The Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (QLQ-C30), Quality of Life Questionnaire-Breast Cancer (QLQ-BR23), and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) were used in this study.Results: Sixteen patients completed the study. Compared with the control group, significant improvements were observed in the total and subscale scores on QLQ-C30 (partial ?2 = 0.40), QLQ-BR23 (partial ?2 = 0.73), and CD-RISC scores (partial ?2 = 0.94) and (P < 0.01) in the intervention group.Conclusion: Acceptance and commitment program appears to be an effective therapeutic intervention for improving quality of life and resilience of breast cancer patients. Therefore, we suggest that this intervention be provided along with medical treatments to improve quality of life and resilience of breast cancer patients.