Acceptance and commitment therapy for family members of children with intellectual disabilities: a pilot study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32093/ambits.vi55.5030Keywords:
Parenting, Psychological flexibility, Intellectual disability, Contextual therapies, Acceptance and commitment therapy, ACT, Parental stressAbstract
The aim of the study was to assess the results of a group intervention program grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The intervention was delivered to relatives of children with a diagnosis of intellectual disability. Four mothers and one father from a disability association participated in the study. Effectiveness was assessed through self-reports whichprovided measures of parental flexibility, thought negative suppression, perceived stress and psychological health. Self-monitoring methods were also used to measure changes in interactions with children. Results showed psychological flexibility significantly increased and thought suppression decreased after training and at two-month follow-up. The effect size was high for these variablesand for perceived stress and psychological health. In addition, an increase in pleasant interactions with disabled children. The study revealed the potential usefulness of this intervention. It provided justification and relevant clues for a later study with a larger sample. We believe that with the development of the intervention programme we could put in the hands of guidance professionals and families an instrument with the capacity to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities and their families.
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