Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Self-help to Reduce Stress

The efficacy of guided self‐help based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to reduce subjective sense of stress will be investigated in a randomised controlled trial with two condition: 1) ACT‐based self‐help, and 2) Wait‐list control. The outcome at the end of the treatment and 6‐month follow‐up will be assessed. The wail‐list condition will be offered ACT‐based self‐help after 10 weeks (i.e. when the post‐assessment is completed). Inclusion criteria are: Adults with a score above 14 on the stress sub scale of the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS) at screening, a score below 10 on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐9), no indication of suicidality on the PHQ‐9, and no ongoing psychotherapeutic interventions, and no previous work with the self‐help manual that has been published as a self‐help book. A total of 140 participants will be recruited and randomised, using services on www.random.org. Informed consent will be obtained from all the participants ahead of screening. Participants will be asked to respond to the following questionnaires at pre‐, post and follow‐up assessments: Perceived Stress Scale‐14 (PSS‐14), General Anxiety Disorder‐7 (GAD‐7), Shirom Melamed Burnout Measure (SMBM), and Brunnsviken Brief Quality of Life Inventory (BBQ). Initially, they will also be asked to respond to the credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ). At the end of the intervention (week 10), participants will also be asked to respond to the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), and the Negative Effects Questionnaire (NEQ). The following two scales will be used to study mediators: Acceptance and Action Questionnaire‐2 (AAQ‐2), and Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), assess at pre‐treatment, as well as at third and fifth week of treatment, at post‐assessment (10 weeks later), and at the 6 months follow‐up. A number of moderators, including demographics, will also be investigated.