One-Day Acceptance and Commitment Training Intervention in Primary Care Patients

The goal of this study is to 1) examine the feasibility and acceptability of a one-day Acceptance and Commitment Training + Illness Management (ACT-IM) intervention in patients with comorbid vascular disease risk factors and depression or anxiety; and 2) to evaluate the effectiveness of this brief group intervention(ACT-IM), compared to Treatment-As-Usual (TAU) on the mental health and functioning of patients with co-morbid mood/anxiety and vascular disease risk factors. Patients with vascular disease risk factors will be identified by physicians in Family Practice or Internal Medicine, through chart review, or through advertisements. Those with vascular risk factors will be screened and assessed for symptoms of depression or anxiety. Patients who are experiencing significant depressive or anxiety symptoms and are interested in the treatment arm of the study will be randomized to the ACT-IM intervention or to TAU. Assessments of the following will take place both before and after the intervention: depression, anxiety, functioning, illness self-management, blood vessel health, and blood.