Applied Psychology

Applied Psychology

Comparing of Clinical Efficacy of ACT Matrix with ACT Focused on Compassion and Hofmann's CBT on Social Anxiety Disorder

Document Type : Scientific-research

Authors
Hamid Asadi 1
Masoud Mohammadi 2
Ghasem Naziri 2
Azam Davoodi 2
1 Ph.D. Student Clinical Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, College of Economy & Management, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical psychology, College of Economy & Management, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran.
10.48308/apsy.2022.225361.1241
Abstract
Aim: The empirical and theoretical evidence suggest that Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions lack stable efficacy. This study aimed to compare the clinical efficacy of ACT Matrix, ACT Focused on Compassion, and Hofmann's CBT in treating social anxiety disorder.
 
Method: A single-blinded clinical trial with a single-case experimental design, employing a non-concurrent multiple baseline approach, was conducted on 9 students with social anxiety disorder, selected through purposive random sampling. The treatment comprised 12 sessions (60 minutes each) with a two-month follow-up. Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (Heimberg & et al., 1999), Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form (Raes & et al., 2011), Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (Second Version, Bond & et al., 2011), and the Valued Living Questionnaire (Wilson & et al., 2010) were used for outcome assessment. Data analysis involved visual drawing, recovery percentage, stable change index, and six indicators of clinical efficiency.
 
Results: All three intervention methods significantly reduced social anxiety (Z<-2.58) and enhanced flexibility (Z>2.58). However, Hofmann's CBT exhibited limited clinical effectiveness in increasing self-compassion and valued living (Z<1.96). These results were sustained at the 2-month follow-up.
 
Conclusion: The ACT Matrix and ACT focused on compassion demonstrated superior clinical efficacy in terms of magnitude of change, stability, total change, and safety compared to Hoffmann's CBT. Nevertheless, all three interventions exhibited similarities in acceptance and generality of change.
Keywords
Social Anxiety
Flexibility
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
ACT focused on Compassion
ACT Matrix
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