aPh.D Candidate, Department of Public Psychology, College of human science, Islamic Azad University, Bushehr, Iran
bFaculty Member in Department of Public Psychology, Bushehr Branch, College of Human Science, Islamic Azad University, Bushehr, Iran
cM.A Student in Department of Clinical Psychology, College of Human Science, Islamic Azad University, Bushehr, Iran
dM.A Student in Counselling, North Tehran Branch, College of human science, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Psychotherapy based on acceptance and commitment therapy is one of the third wave therapies that emphasizes on the functional changes of thoughts and feelings instead of changing the form, content or the frequency of them. It seems in disorders such as anxiety, thoughts and feelings functional changes occur much faster and easier than changing the form and content. The present study aims at investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on reducing conference anxiety among the female students.
The study used a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design with control group. The research sample was selected using random sampling and divided into two groups. The experimental group received acceptance and commitment therapy for 8 two-hour sessions, and the control group did not receive any treatment. The questionnaires were again given to both groups in the posttest phase.
There was a significant difference between experimental and control groups. The results of covariance analysis revealed acceptance and commitment therapy significantly reduced the physiological symptoms of conference anxiety and increased the speaker's self-confidence.
According to the obtained results, acceptance and commitment therapy significantly reduced the participants’ anxiety who suffered from conference anxiety.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Conference Anxiety
