PACT Programme for Parents of Children With SHCN

The PACT group will receive a combination of 6 online modules and 4 group-based video conferencing sessions of Prosocial-orientated Acceptance and Commitment Training plus positive parenting advice via a mobile app across 12 weeks. The modules will cover real-life scenarios of daily parenting challenges in caring for a child with SHCN, followed by age-appropriate positive parenting advice based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. After going through the scenarios, parents will be audio/visually guided to participate in ACT activities, including mindfulness exercises, ACT metaphors and experiential exercises, which will be used to increase psychological flexibility.

The Control Group will receive a total of 6 online modules and 4 group-based video conferencing sessions in a closed group of 6-8, 60 minutes per session guided by a trained facilitator via the mobile app across 12 weeks. The online modules will provide identical contents to those in the PACT group, but no guided ACT metaphors or experiential exercises. The interaction sessions serve to review and discuss the contents of online modules, but without the contents related to ACT/prosociality.