Comparison of effectiveness acceptance and commitment therapy and compassion therapy on death obsession and self-care ability in the elderly

Background:The elderly population is widely acknowledged as a valuable asset to any society.Given the potential psychological and physical challenges associated with death obsession and selfcare ability among the elderly, this research aims to address these issues.Notably, there is a dearth of investigation into the comparison of two interventions targeting death obsession and self-care in the Iranian elderly.Consequently, this study is designed to contribute to the enhancement of both variables in this specific demographic.Aims: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and compassion therapy on death obsession and self-care ability in the elderly.Methods: The research employed a semi-experimental design with a pre-test-post-test structure, incorporating two experimental groups and a control group.The study focused on the welfare elderly population in Behshahr City, selected through purposeful sampling and subsequently randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups.The first experimental group underwent eight 90minute sessions of compassion therapy (Gilbert, 2009), while the second experimental group participated in nine 120-minute sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy (Hayes et al., 2013).In contrast, the control group did not receive any treatment.Data collection involved the use of the self-care ability scale for the elderly developed by Yonsi et al. ( 2019) and the death obsession scale by Abdul Khaliq (1998).Statistical analysis utilized descriptive and inferential statistics, multivariate covariance analysis, and the SPSS 23 statistical software. Results:The results revealed that both acceptance and commitment therapy and compassion therapy led to a reduction in death obsession and an enhancement in self-care ability among the elderly.Additionally, no significant difference was observed in the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy compared to compassion therapy concerning death obsession (p>0.05).However, it was noted that compassion therapy exhibited a higher effectiveness in improving selfcare ability in the elderly (p< 0.05). Conclusion:In light of the findings, it can be inferred that both acceptance and commitment therapy and compassion therapy were effective in addressing death obsession and enhancing self-care ability in the elderly.Consequently, psychotherapy centers and elderly care facilities can consider employing acceptance and commitment therapy as well as compassion therapy as effective treatment approaches to enhance the well-being of the elderly, specifically targeting the improvement of death obsession and self-care ability.