The effectiveness of integrating schema therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy on subjective well-being and concern about body image among women with breast cancer

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women and has many psychological complications. Therefore, the effectiveness of integrated psychological interventions that can consider the emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and interpersonal dimensions is a practical necessity. Aims: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of integrating schema therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy on subjective well-being and body image concerns in women with breast cancer. Methods: The present study was applied in terms of purpose and quasi-experimental method in a series of pre-test, post-test, and three-month follow-ups with the control group. The statistical population of the study consisted of all women with breast cancer in Yazd city in 2023. The sample consisted of 30 women with breast cancer who were selected by purposive sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. Two participants in the experimental group shed in the post-test phase and two members of the control group were excluded for a tie (13 in each group). The experimental group was taught the integration of schema therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy in 8 sessions of 1.5 hours. Data were collected using the Subjective Well-Being Questionnaire (Molavi et al., 2009) and the Body Image Concern Inventory (Littleton et al., 2005). Results: The results showed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in mental well-being and concern about body image after receiving the integrated therapy sessions (p< 0.05). Furthermore, follow-up findings indicated sustained reductions in concern about body image and increased mental well-being in the experimental group (p< 0.05). Conclusion: The integration of schema therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy offers a promising intervention for women with breast cancer, targeting cognitive and emotional processes to improve their psychological well-being. However, further research is needed for better conclusions.