"It's knowing that there are other people and they've accepted it": Patients' experiences of an acceptance and commitment therapy group intervention for people with neurological conditions.

Abstract

Individuals living with neurological conditions often face chronic issues including motor and sensory impairments and cognitive deficits. These challenges can lead to significant psychological difficulties, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a psychotherapeutic approach which aims to enhance psychological flexibility and acceptance while promoting behavioural change. Although ACT groups have shown promise in supporting individuals with neurological conditions, the evidence on patients' experiences of attending them is sparse. This project explored the experiences of individuals with a range of neurological conditions who had attended ACT group sessions as part of routine clinical practice, with the aim to refine future iterations of the intervention and enhancing patient care. Ten individual qualitative semi-structured interviews were carried out and the data were analysed thematically. Three overarching themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Initial Barriers to Group Attendance and Engagement; (2) Building an Environment of Acceptance; (3) Developing an ACT toolkit. Overall, the results showed that the ACT group intervention led participants to develop stronger emotional connectedness, better knowledge of their difficulties, more effective psychological skills, and different mindsets regarding their condition. Implications for the refinement of future ACT groups, neuropsychological service development, and clinical practice are discussed.