Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and its Psychosocial Outcomes among People with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Chronic diseases are still considered one of the leading causes of death worldwide and a major concern for national health systems. Rheumatoid arthritis is one of them with an unknown etiology. The prolonged course of illness has many impacts, and early diagnosis may provide opportunities to stop symptoms or the disease from getting worse or improve patients’ quality of life. Environmental factors and personal characteristics, such as lifestyle choices and psychological makeup, can influence how negatively a disease affects a person’s quality of life. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy that aims to reduce the painful subjective experiences that are the causes of suffering and other psychological difficulties. It focuses on the client’s ability to accept the conditions rather than control or escape them. It also helps to establish oneself with more clarity and purpose to survive the conditions. ACT involves attempts to change the existing perception by replacing specific maladaptive thoughts. It emphasizes the relative influence of conditioned thoughts and their negative influence on one’s meaningful life. The present study aims to examine the benefits of ACT-based intervention and its impact on rheumatoid arthritis patients. A review analysis showed that acceptance and commitment therapy greatly support RA patients and help manage the disease. Even though it has several benefits, it is not applied in arthritis patients as a therapeutic technique. The study recommends the inclusion of acceptance-based interventions along with pharmacotherapy to address the psychosocial problems of arthritis patients.