Depression and alcohol abuse are problems that require further attention in Indonesia. Depression and alcohol abuse has interrelated association, in which alcohol abuse is almost always preceded by mild or moderate depression symptoms. Many people use alcohol to supress their negative emotion and to feel better in stress situation. Nonetheless, alcohol abuse has negative impact that lead to alcohol dependence and health problems. Depression was a mental disorder that many experienced by individuals in the emerging adulthood, especially college students. This condition lead to an increased risk of alcohol abuse. Therefore, the ability to regulate negative emotion is necessary to avoid the fatal risks of depression and alcohol abuse in college students. Many studies have shown, by knowing and accepting the arised negative emotions in oneself, one can get peace of mind easier, so emotion regulation can be reached. However, there have not been enough studies showing the effectiveness of this related intervention in brief sessions, especially in educational setting. The purpose of the current study was to determine effectiveness of emotion acceptance-based intervention in college student who has depression symptoms and alcohol abuse. The depression symptoms was not prominent enough to be diagnosed clinically.

The current study was a single-case study with repeated measurement (n=1). The intervention was performed by a student of Magister Profession Program of Clinical Adult Psychology under the supervision of a psychologist who has a practice license. The participant in this study was B. B was a 20 year-old woman who was registered to college counseling services center by her friend. She came to counseling center with complaint of stress and felt prolonged sadness. Two weeks before the first session, she shut herself in the room for three days. During her confinement, she closed communication with her friends, lost appetite to eat, constantly weep, thought about problems with her ex-boyfriend, felt worthlessness, and desired to kill herself.

The intervention in current study was performed by applicating concepts of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in brief sessions. The intervention was performed in 4 sessions with duration 2-3 hours each session. The session was running in interval 3-7 days. A brief interview was conducted about 4 weeks after the last session as a follow up session. Depression symptoms and alcohol abuse was measured in this study. The measurement was conducted in the first session (pre-test) and in the last session (post-test). Level of depression was measured by BDI (adapted in Bahasa) and alcohol abuse by self-report of alcohol consumption frequency.

As a result of current study showed the changes of mood and perspective of the participant. The participant reported mood enhancement and able to replan her normal activities. This result was supported by the decrease of depression symptoms from point 25 to 8. This decline showed the change of depression symptoms level from moderate into normal level. The result was also showed by decreasing of alcohol comsumption from 8 times per month to 0. Before the intervention she reported about 4 glasses per alcohol comsumption and after the intervention she reported zero alcohol comsumption. These evidences indicated the effectiveness of intervention to reduce distress in the participant.

The current intervention was conducted in college couseling setting. The techniques in each intervention was relatively convenient, supported by simple and effortless homework to be accomplished. Because of these reasons, techniques in this study is possible to be applied in school settings by related school counselor. In conclusion, the results indicated that emotion acceptance-based intervention can be applied in this single-case, but need further research to make it generalizable in any depression case.

Keyword: Depression, alcohol abuse, negative emotion acceptance