Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Principles in Training Parents of Children with Epilepsy

Background: Caregivers of children with epilepsy typically endure considerable stress, anxiety and emotional suffering, which adversely affect their health and ability to provide care. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) emphasises psychological flexibility, enabling individuals to accept difficult emotions and engage in value-oriented behaviours. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of training ACT-based techniques for enhancing parental coping, decreasing psychological distress and improving the overall family functioning. Aim: This study investigates the efficiency of ACT-based training in parents with children diagnosed with epilepsy on anxiety, depression and well-being and psychological flexibility. Materials and Methods: Ten parents were randomly assigned to an experimental group, n = 5, and a control group, n = 5. The experimental group received 6 weeks of ACT-based training; the control group were provided with standard care. The pre- and post-intervention assessment tools were used. Statistical Analysis Used: The non-parametric Friedman test was used to assess general changes over time, with any variables that proved significant tested using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for post hoc analysis. Descriptive statistics were computed for all variables, while between-group comparisons were assessed using the Mann–Whitney U -test. Results and Discussion: Significant improvement was found in the experimental group compared to the control group. The parents of the ACT-based training group revealed a significant reduction in anxiety, enhanced well-being and psychological flexibility with P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively. ACT-based parent training is an effective clinical intervention for reducing psychological distress and enhancing the quality of life amongst parents of children with epilepsy. Embedding principles of ACT within the fabric of parent-training programmes could have an important impact on mental health and tangential support for parents.