Employing an immersive intervention to remediate low mood, anxiety, and obsessive–compulsive symptoms in medical students [Abstract]

Walker, Alannah, Davies-Payne, Georgia, Tajeldin, Ludan, Janabi, Halah and Hassoulas, Athanasios ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1029-1847 2026. Employing an immersive intervention to remediate low mood, anxiety, and obsessive–compulsive symptoms in medical students [Abstract]. The British Journal of Psychiatry 22 (S1) , pp. S89-S90. 10.1192/bjo.2026.11145

Preview

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (92kB) | Preview

Abstract

Aims: This study evaluated the efficacy of an immersive Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based intervention in reducing subclinical depressive, anxiety, and obsessive–compulsive symptoms in medical students at Cardiff University. Methods: A quantitative within-subjects repeated-measures design was employed using a single-group pretest–post-test approach. Participants completed baseline measures of obsessive–compulsive (OCI-R), anxiety (GAD-7), and depressive (PHQ-9) symptoms prior to engaging with the immersive ACT intervention, and the same measures were repeated post-intervention. Participants were recruited via the medical school’s student support unit and through advertising across all years of the undergraduate medical programme. Results: Seventeen participants completed all study components. No significant pre–postdifferences were observed on the total OCI-R, GAD-7, or PHQ-9 scores. However, subscale analyses revealed a significant reduction in the neutralising dimension of the OCI-R following the intervention (z=−1.941, p <0.05). Post-intervention differences were also identified between participants with high versus low depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), specifically in obsessional symptoms (z=−2.298, p <0.05). In addition, participants with high versus low anxiety scores (GAD-7) demonstrated a significant reduction in ordering symptoms post-intervention (z=−2.179, p=0.029). Conclusion: Although no significant changes were observed on overall measures of obsessive–compulsive, anxiety, or depressive symptoms, targeted reductions were evident in specific symptom dimensions following the immersive ACT-based intervention. These findings suggest potential symptom-specific benefits for medical students with elevated obsessive–compulsive, depressive, and anxiety traits. While limited by a small, subclinical sample, the results support further investigation of immersive ACT interventions in larger and clinical populations.

Item Type:	Short Communication
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Medicine
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISSN:	0007-1250
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	7 July 2026
Date of Acceptance:	30 June 2026
Last Modified:	07 Jul 2026 10:17
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/187917

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item