Acceptance Commitment Therapy for Caregivers of People With Memory Loss

Family caregivers for persons with dementia report high levels of depression, stress, and burden. Caregivers' limited time, transportation constraints, and unpredictable schedules make on-line, self-guided interventions more accessible and scalable. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an established and effective in-person therapy, well-suited to the dementia care giving context where caregivers cannot minimize stress exposure, and report difficult thoughts and emotions. ACT for Caregivers is an on-line self-guided ACT intervention that showed effectiveness in a Stage I pilot (n=52) with participants reporting decreased depressive symptoms, stressful reactions to caring, and caregiver burden, and increased quality of life and positive aspects of caring (all p <.05). Learning from the pilot, the current Stage III intervention will shorten the program from 10 sessions to 6 sessions. The investigators introduce a wait list randomized control trial (RCT) design with fully longitudinal mixed methods to evaluate ACT for Caregivers. Data will be collected at pretest, post-test, and 6-weeks follow-up. Study aims are: 1) to evaluate ACT for Caregivers in a larger sample using an RCT, 2) to understand user experiences and the process of change by collecting short response data from all participants at all time points and interviewing a subset of participants in-depth at two time points, 3) to integrate quantitative and qualitative findings and examine areas of convergence and divergence. This project offers a promising prevention and intervention program to support family caregivers that is scalable, at low cost and with high impact.

Inclusion Criteria:Self-identification as a family caregiver to a person with dementia or other significant memory lossInterest in taking part in an on-line self-guided program with multiple assessments up through 6-week follow-upDistressed from the care giving role, as measured by a score of 4+ on a single item "How distressed are you by caring for your family member?" (1 not at all to 10 extremely)Ability to read/write EnglishAccess to a computer/smartphone/tablet with InternetCaregiver does not have to live with the care recipient, as distress can arise with or without cohabitation, participants must live within the United States.Exclusion Criteria:Not caring for a family caregiver to a person with dementia or other significant memory lossNot interested in an on-line self-guided program with multiple assessments up through 6-week follow-upResponds with a score of 3 or less when asked "How distressed are you by caring for your family member?" (1 not at all to 10 extremely)Inability to read/write EnglishDoes not have reliable access to a computer/smartphone/tablet with Internet.Lives outside of the United StatesYounger than 18 years old