Comparison of the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Schema Therapy on Psychological Distress in Women after Hysterectomy

Hysterectomy remains the second most commonly performed surgical procedure for women of reproductive age, second only to cesarean section. The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of the acceptance and commitment therapy and schema therapy on psychological distress in women after hysterectomy. The present study is an experimental study with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of the study consists of all hysterectomies women in Ardabil, Iran, in 2020. Among them, 45 women were selected by available sampling and were studied in two experimental groups and a control group (15 people in each group) after random replacement. Data collection instrument was Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). The implementation processes of the acceptance and commitment therapy and schema therapy lasted for 8 sessions, 90 minutes each, and the control group did not receive any intervention. The results were analyzed using the multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The results of the analysis of covariance showed that after controlling the pre-test effects, there was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the two experimental groups and the control groups in the total scores of depression variable (F = 85.976), anxiety variable (F = 155.158), and stress variable (F = 225.145). Considering the effectiveness of the protocols of acceptance and commitment therapy and schema therapy on research variables, the use of this intervention method as a strategy to prevent psychological distress in hysterectomies women is recommended by psychologists and counselors of medical centers.