The Effectiveness of Attachment-Based Compassion Therapy (ABCT) in Treating Psychological Problems: A Meta-analysis

Abstract

Attachment based compassion therapy (ABCT) belongs to third generation of compassion therapies. This approach is grounded in attachment theory and compassion practices. The core purpose of this meta analysis was to study the effectiveness of a recently developed intervention program, Attachment based compassion therapy to treat specific psychological conditions i.e., psychological wellbeing and self compassion along with psychological problems which include stress, depression, anxiety and trauma related problems. The data was systematically collected from electronic databases published between 2016 and 2025. Peer reviewed scientific studies were included while non empirical articles and studies other than English language were excluded.  Both randomized and non randomized control trials studies were included for a comprehensive overview. Among these, 15 studies were systematically reviewed which showed that ABCT considerably reduces psychological distress with a large effect size for stress (g=.70). depression(g=.65) and anxiety (g=.72). In addition, ABCT showed its significance to lower trauma symptoms and enhance self compassion. As indicated by the results of meta analysis, ABCT is proven to be a vigorous psychological intervention to treat specific psychological conditions. To asses long term effects of intervention and feasibility of its application, more empirical studies are required.