Comparison of the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy on suppressed anger and self-compassion in women with chronic pain disorder

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain means having pain for a long time. It lasts longer than the expected recovery time or happens with a long-lasting health problem. The study aimed to compare the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on women with chronic pain disorder. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest control design and a one-month follow-up. The statistical population of this research included all women suffering from chronic pain disorder in Tehran City, Iran, from July to October 2022-2023. 60 participants were selected using purposive sampling and randomly assigned into two experimental groups and one control group (n = 20 women per group). The first experimental group received ACT (eleventh 90-minute sessions per week), the second experimental group received CBT (eight 90-minute sessions per week), while the control group was on the waiting list. The research instruments included the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2) and the Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form (SCS-SF), administered before and after the intervention. The collected data were analyzed by the repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS software. RESULTS: ACT and CBT significantly influenced the suppressed anger and enhanced self-compassion of women with chronic pain (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Findings have shown that ACT and CBT have a positive effect on decreased suppressed anger and enhanced self-compassion in women with chronic pain. Therefore, ACT and CBT methods should be used in special counseling for women with chronic pain in the hospital.