Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy in treating depression and suicidal ideation in veterans

Résumé

textbfOBJECTIVE: This paper examines the effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for depression (ACT-D), and the specific effects of experiential acceptance and mindfulness, in reducing suicidal ideation (SI) and depression among Veterans. textbfMETHOD: Patients included 981 Veterans, 76% male, mean age 50.5 years. Depression severity and SI were assessed using the BDI-II. Experiential acceptance and mindfulness were measured with the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) and the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, respectively. textbfRESULTS: Of the 981 patients, 647 (66.0%) completed 10 or more sessions or finished early due to symptom relief. For Veterans with SI at baseline, mean BDI-II score decreased from 33.5 to 22.9. For Veterans with no SI at baseline, mean BDI-II score decreased from 26.3 to 15.9. Mixed models with repeated measurement indicated a significant reduction in depression severity from baseline to final assessment (b = -10.52, p textless .001). After adjusting for experiential acceptance and mindfulness, patients with SI at baseline demonstrated significantly greater improvement in depression severity during ACT-D treatment, relative to patients with no SI at baseline (b = -2.81