Assessing the Effects of Acceptance-commitment and Psychodrama Therapies in Nurses With Social Anxiety Disorder
Authors:   Department of Geriatric Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran., Kabusi Malihe , Razavi Nasab Seyed Ali ,   Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Sirjan Medical Sciences, Sirjan, Iran., Saber Elham ,   Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Health, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran., Ivanbagha Reyhaneh ,   Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing, Khalkhal University of Medical Sciences, Khalkhal, Iran., Khedri Behzad ,   Department of Social Work, Faculty of Social Studies, Hanze University of Applied Science, Groningen, Netherlands., Khezerlou Zahra ,   Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran., Ilaghinezhad Bardsiri Tayebeh ,   Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Sirjan Medical Sciences, Sirjan, Iran., Shafiei Zahra ,   Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran., Ebrahimpour Roodposhti Maryam ,   Department of Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Zandi Anahita ,   Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran., Hoseyni Hamid ,   Health Sciences Research Center, Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences,Tabriz, Iran., Ghodrati Torbati Abbas ,   Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran., Eshaghzadeh Maliheh ,   Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran., Eshaghzadeh Samaneh ,   Health Sciences Research Center, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran.
Published: September 2023

Objectives: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one the most prevalent psychiatric disorders and generates severe negative effects on patients' mental, individual, and social health. Decreased responsibility, absenteeism, and poor life quality can be the consequences of this disorder. Considering the effective empirical background of both therapeutic approaches in reducing social anxiety symptoms and the lack of research on combining both interventions to reduce anxiety, this study was performed to determine the effects of acceptance-commitment therapy (ACT) and psychodrama therapy on nurses' social anxiety. Methods: This randomized trial research was conducted at Torbat Heydarieh University of Medical Sciences in 2017 with a pre-test-post-test design. A total of 48 nurses with SAD who were referred to the university counseling center were chosen at random and entered into 4 equal groups (12 subjects) (an intervention group and 3 control groups). The intervention group received a combination of psychodrama and ACT therapies in twelve 90-minute treatment sessions (2 meetings every week). The control groups were provided with psychodrama therapy, ACT, and no treatment. The study data were collected by Connor's social anxiety questionnaire (2000). The collected data were analyzed by analyses of variance and covariance. Results: A decrease was observed in the social anxiety scores in the four groups of the study after psychological therapies. The Mean±SD of the social anxiety score in the treatment group based on psychodrama was 64.75±13.37 before the study period and 49.08±6.71 after that. While in the ACT group, it was 59.65±12.21 and 42.66±8.05 before and after the study, respectively, and in the group provided with a combination of both therapies, it was 62.75±13.49 before the study period and 35.75±7.19 after that. A lack of significant difference (P=0.86) could be detected in the mean anxiety score in the group of control. However, the social anxiety score of the group with a combination of both therapies significantly decreased (P<0.001) compared to other studied control groups. Discussion: The data analysis showed that a combination of ACT and psychodrama therapies significantly reduced the social anxiety of nurses.