The comparison impact of Metacognitive Therapy-Based Group Intervention and Group Acceptance-Based Behavioral Therapy on Psychophysiological Signs of Professional Soccer Players in the U-19 League in Tehran

The present study aimed to compare the effect of metacognitive therapy-based group intervention and group acceptance-based behavioral therapy on psychophysiological signs of professional soccer players in the U-19 league in Tehran. Participants were professional soccer players occupied in professional soccer leagues in Tehran. The participants were entered into the assessment stage, and after obtaining informed consent, they were randomly assigned to one of the three experiment groups, namely MCT, MAC, and WL. The participants’ psychophysiological signs included EEG, EMG, HR, GSR, temperature, and RR, which were recorded using the ewave 8-channel neuro-biofeedback device. The data were analyzed using the eProbe7.8.3 software of Rubymind.us. The results demonstrated that MCTandMACcould make some changes in psychophysiological signs of anxious soccer players. MCT was shown to affect Fz Highbeta-Gama and RR, which had a correlation with anxiety. In addition, MAC was observed to affect the asymmetry of F3 alpha and F4 alpha as a remarkable EEG pattern of aggression. However, MCT and MAC did not show any effect on HR, EMG, temperature, and GSR. According to these findings, it can be inferred that those soccer players who are uncomfortable and suffer from anxiety and aggression-related problems may benefit from such interventions.