Comparing the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on body image anxiety and emotional self-regulation

Emotion  regulation  is  a  basic  principle  in  initiating,  evaluating  and  organizing adaptive  behavior,  as  well  as  preventing  the  occurrence  of  unhealthy  emotions and maladaptive behaviors,  and  body image is a  multidimensional structure  that refers  to  a  person's  perception  of  their  body  shape  and  body.  The  aim  of  the present study  was to  compare  the effectiveness of  Mindfulness-based  Cognitive Therapy  (MBCT)  and  Acceptance  and  Commitment  Therapy  (ACT)  on  body image anxiety and emotional self-regulation among housewives. For this purpose, in  a  quasi-experimental  study  with  pre-test,  post-test  and  control  group,  36 housewives were selected by  available  sampling  method  and  randomly  assigned to two  experimental  groups  and  one  control.  The  MBCT  group  and  the  ACT group  participated  in  8  sessions  of  90-minute  treatment.  The groups were evaluated before and after treatment for body image concerns and emotional self-regulation.  Analysis of covariance and Benfroni Post Hoc test showed that MBCT and  ACT  both  reduced  body  image  anxiety  and  increased  emotional  selfregulation   in  housewives.  Of the two therapies, Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) was more effective than acceptance and commitment therapy.