Health and Medical Psychology Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Counseling

Comparative Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Existential Group Therapy on Treatment Adherence in Women with Breast Cancer and Chronic Pain

https://doi.org/10.61838/ijbmc.v13i12.1404
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Breast Cancer Chronic Pain Existential Therapy Treatment Adherence

Authors

  • Parisa Shahrokhi Department of Psychology, CT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
  • Fatemeh Alijani
    Fa.alijani@iau.ac.ir
    Department of Counseling, Ab.C., Islamic Azad University, Abhar, Iran.
  • Asghar Jafari Department of Counseling, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran.
  • Vahideh Babakhani Department of Counseling, Ab.C., Islamic Azad University, Abhar, Iran.
In Press
Quantitative Study(ies)

Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and existential group therapy on treatment adherence among women with breast cancer experiencing chronic pain.

Methods and Materials: A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control-group design with a three-month follow-up was used. Forty-five women with breast cancer and chronic pain referred to Omid Hospital in Mashhad in 2025 were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to ACT (n = 15), existential therapy (n = 15), or control (n = 15) groups. The experimental groups received eight weekly 90-minute group sessions, while the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Chronic Pain Grade Questionnaire and Treatment Adherence Questionnaire. Repeated-measures ANOVA and Tukey post hoc tests were performed in SPSS version 25.

Findings: Significant time × group effects were found for total treatment adherence, F = 31.63, p < .001, η² = .60, effort in treatment, F = 8.44, p < .001, η² = .29, willingness to participate, F = 11.40, p < .001, η² = .35, ability to adapt treatment to life, F = 6.28, p < .001, η² = .23, integration of treatment into life, F = 9.66, p < .001, η² = .32, and commitment to treatment, F = 9.42, p < .001, η² = .31. Both interventions significantly improved treatment adherence compared with the control group, and effects remained stable at follow-up. Existential therapy showed greater improvement than ACT in total treatment adherence, integration of treatment into life, and persistence in treatment.

Conclusion: ACT and existential group therapy improved treatment adherence, with existential therapy showing relative superiority in meaning- and responsibility-related adherence dimensions.