ACT for High-risk Pregnancy

The intervention is a 7-day self-guided acceptance-based intervention using a published Acceptance and Commitment Therapy self-help work book. This therapy is based on the theory that rigid attempts to control internal states, thoughts and feelings, and other forms of experiential avoidance contribute to symptom development and maintenance of depression, anxiety and/or stress. The therapy includes two components: (a) educating patients about the exacerbation of stress and negative affect through rigid attempts at experiential avoidance, and (b) introducing acceptance and the willingness to experience pregnancy-related sensations and cognitions as an alternative to experiential control, through the practice of intentional and non-judgmental paying attention to one's thoughts, feelings, images and bodily sensations (including aversive symptoms) and learning to see thoughts as an ongoing process distinct from self rather than merely an event with literal meaning.