Effects of Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Family Members of Individuals With Early Psychosis on Self-Stigma, Coping Strategies and Resilience: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Duygu Özer
PMID 41981886WHAT IT FOUND
Family members of people with early psychosis who took eight weekly online ACT sessions reported lower self-stigma and higher coping scores after the program, and higher resilience at three months.
This was a small single-site trial, so treat it as early evidence.
Key findings
01Online group ACT was associated with lower self-stigma scores than control at post-test and three-month follow-up.
02Online group ACT was associated with higher seeking social support and problem-focused coping scores than control at post-test and three-month follow-up.
03Resilience scores were higher in the ACT group than control at three-month follow-up, but not immediately after the program.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The trial was conducted at one tertiary hospital outpatient clinic in Turkey, so it may not apply to other services or countries. The sample was small and exploratory, with 41 family members, so chance findings cannot be ruled out. Participants were recruited by convenience and knew whether they received ACT, so expectations may have influenced self-reported scores. All outcomes were self-reported by family members, and no patient outcomes, relapse, function, or service use were measured. The ACT program was delivered by one researcher-nurse as a bundle of online group sessions, mindfulness, defusion, values and acceptance exercises, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. The avoidance coping result is inconsistent between the text and the table. Follow-up was only three months, and resilience differences appeared only at follow-up, so longer-term durability is unknown. Potential harms were monitored informally by asking participants about distress, not with a standardized safety measure.
Declared interests
No funding or conflicts of interest were reported; the author states they have nothing to report.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that online ACT is proven for family members in early psychosis. It was an exploratory trial of 41 family members at one Turkish clinic, with self-reported outcomes, no patient outcomes, and resilience differences only at three months.