The Effective of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with and without Mindfulness Exercises on Illness Perception and Depression Hemodialysis Patients

The kidney disease has many psychological problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy before dialysis, with and without mindfulness exercise during dialysis on depression and illness perception during a two-month follow-up period.

This study was a three-group clinical trial with a repeated measures method. Sixty patients were purposefully selected and were randomly located in experimental groups (First group; acceptance and commitment, second group; acceptance and commitment therapy with mindfulness exercises) and control. The research instruments included the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ).

Depression significantly reduced in the first and second experimental group (P<0.001). Also, in both experimental groups compared to the control group, depression decreased (P<0.05). In addition, in the first and second groups, disease perception increased (P<0.01). However, changes in disease perception in the follow-up period in the second group (P>0.05) remained stable contrary to the results of the first group (P<0.05).  The effectiveness of the intervention in the second group was significant compared to the other two groups (P<0.05).

Acceptance and commitment therapy as an effective intervention can be used in medical centers to reduce depression and its combination with mindfulness exercise is effective in improving cognitive processes of hemodialysis patients.