Effect of acceptance and commitment therapy based psychoeducation program on earthquake trauma and psychological flexibility

One of the most common psychological problems after an earthquake is post-traumatic stress disorder. For this reason, in this study, a psychoeducation program (KATDEP) based on ACT was developed and its effectiveness was evaluated in order to increase the psychological flexibility levels of earthquake victims and reduce traumatic symptoms. In the study where a simultaneous mixed method design was used; a 2×3 quasi-experimental design was adopted in the quantitative part and a phenomenology approach was adopted in the qualitative part. The study group consisted of 26 university students affected by the February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. ANOVA was used in mixed designs in the analysis of quantitative data, and thematic analysis method was used in the analysis of qualitative data. Qualitative findings revealed in detail the traumatic experiences of the participants before, during and after the earthquake. While the participants in the experimental group evaluated the implemented psychoeducation program positively in terms of content and applicability, the participants in the control group stated that they did not experience any change in the process. Both numerical data and participant narratives demonstrated that KATDEP was an effective tool in increasing psychological flexibility (F(1,723)= 47.209; p < .001; Ƞ2=.692) and reducing trauma (Λ = .339; F(2-42)= 24.20; p=,000; ƞ2 =.661).