Investigating the Effectiveness of the Emotion Regulation Group Intervention Based on Acceptance on the Severity of Symptoms and Signs, Emotional Dysregulation and Quality of Life in Bipolar I Disorder: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is one of the most serious psychiatric disorders, characterized by recurrent episodes of depression, mania, and mood disorders. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of emotion regulation based on acceptance intervention on the severity of symptoms and signs, emotional dysregulation (ED), and quality of life (QOL) in patients with bipolar I disorder. Methods: The present research design was semi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test, and 2-month follow-up with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all patients with bipolar I disorder referred to 505 Nezaja Neurology and Psychiatry Subspecialty Hospital in the first half of 2023. Through purposeful sampling and using the effect size formula, 36 patients were selected. The data were analyzed using Young’s mania rating, difficulties in emotion regulation, and QOL Scale. Sixteen weekly sessions (1.5 hours each) were conducted in the experimental group. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine the research hypotheses. Results: The results showed that emotion regulation group intervention based on acceptance had a significant effect on reducing the severity of symptoms and signs, ED, and increasing QOL in patients (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Based on the results, it can be said that emotion regulation group intervention based on acceptance reduced the severity of symptoms and signs in patients with bipolar I disorder. Therefore, these interventions are recommended for patients with bipolar I disorder to reduce symptoms and signs and enhance QOL.