Seabra, DanielGato, JorgePetrocchi, Nicolado Céu Salvador, Mari2024-12-192024-12-192024Seabra, Daniel, Jorge Gato, Nicola Petrocchi, and Maria do Céu Salvador. “Preliminary Evidence of an Affirmative Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Compassion-Based, Non-Randomized Group Intervention with Follow-up for Sexual Minority Individuals (Free2Be).” Psychologica 67 (December):e067006–e067006. 2024.https://doi.org/10.14195/1647-8606_67_6https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14490/833Sexual minority (SM) individuals present lower levels of mental health compared to their heterosexual peers. This study aimed to explore the preliminary evidence of a manualized 13-week, face-to-face affirmative group intervention for SM individuals based on mindfulness, acceptance, and compassion-focused techniques (Free2Be). In a single-armed trial design, nine participants received the intervention and were assessed in three moments (baseline, post-intervention, and three-month follow-up). Sexual minority-related stress processes, psychopathological symptoms, and general adaptive and maladaptive psychological processes were assessed. Group comparisons and individual reliable change index analyses were performed. Overall, the results were significant/reliable in the expected direction: an increase in general adaptive psychological processes and a decrease in sexual-minority-related stress processes, psychopathological symptoms, and general maladaptive psychological processes. These changes remained stable over time. Stigma consciousness, shame related to sexual orientation, and fears of self-compassion did not present any relevant change. Self-compassion increased in the post-intervention and decreased in the follow-up, presenting an unstable trajectory. Results suggested that the Free2Be is an intervention with benefits for sexual minority people.enAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Affirmative interventionSexual minority individualsMindfulnesAcceptanceSelf-compassionEffectivenessArticle