The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Psychosomatic Symptoms and Health Anxiety in Women with Physical Illnesses

Shakerinasab, Mohsen; Shirzadeh, Nadia; Yousefi, Sakineh; Parsanejad, Mostafa; Vahedi, Ali; Ghanbari, Noushin

doi:10.22034/rip.2025.529244.1107

The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Psychosomatic Symptoms and Health Anxiety in Women with Physical Illnesses

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mohsen Shakerinasab ¹

Nadia Shirzadeh ²

Sakineh Yousefi ³

Mostafa Parsanejad ⁴

Ali Vahedi ⁵

Noushin Ghanbari ⁶

¹ PhD. in Psychology, Department of Psychology, Bojnourd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd , Iran

² PhD. Student in Psychology, Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran

³ MSc. in General Psychology, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

⁴ MSc. in General Psychology, Shahrood Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrood, Iran

⁵ MSc. in General Psychology, BandarGaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, BandarGaz , Iran

⁶ MSc. in Family Counseling, Bojnord University of Bojnord , Iran

10.22034/rip.2025.529244.1107

Abstract

The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on psychosomatic symptoms and health anxiety in women with physical illnesses. This quasi-experimental research followed a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of women with psychosomatic symptoms and physical complaints (cardiovascular and gastrointestinal) who visited public healthcare centers in Mashhad in 2023. The study sample included 30 patients selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (15 participants each). The research instruments were the Psychosomatic Complaints Scale (PCS) and the Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI-18). The experimental group underwent an 8-session ACT intervention (90 minutes per session, held weekly). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) revealed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in psychosomatic symptoms and health anxiety (P < 0.05). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy was effective in reducing psychosomatic symptoms (η² = 0.80) and health anxiety (η² = 0.37). Overall, given the positive effects of ACT in alleviating psychosomatic symptoms and health anxiety in women with physical illnesses, this approach is recommended for psychologists and psychotherapists in the healthcare field.

Keywords

acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

anxiety

psychosomatic symptoms

Subjects