Affiliation:
1. Department of Psychology, Drexel University,
2. Department of Psychology, Drexel University
Abstract
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has a small but growing database of support. One hundred and one heterogeneous outpatients reporting moderate to severe levels of anxiety or depression were randomly assigned to traditional cognitive therapy (CT) or to ACT. To maximize external validity, the authors utilized very minimal exclusion criteria. Participants receiving CT and ACT evidenced large, equivalent improvements in depression, anxiety, functioning difficulties, quality of life, life satisfaction, and clinician-rated functioning. Whereas improvements were equivalent across the two groups, the mechanisms of action appeared to differ. Changes in “observing” and “describing” one's experiences appeared to mediate outcomes for the CT group relative to the ACT group, whereas “experiential avoidance,” “acting with awareness,” and “acceptance” mediated outcomes for the ACT group. Overall, the results suggest that ACT is a viable and disseminable treatment, the effectiveness of which appears equivalent to that of CT, even as its mechanisms appear to be distinct.
Subject
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous),Clinical Psychology,Developmental and Educational Psychology
Reference92 articles.
1. The use of acceptance and commitment therapy to prevent the rehospitalization of psychotic patients: A randomized controlled trial.
2. Assessment of Mindfulness by Self-Report
3. On second thought: Where the action is in cognitive therapy for depression
4. Barnes-Holmes, Y., Hayes, S.C., Barnes-Holmes, D. & Roche, B. (2001). Relational frame theory: A post-Skinnerian account of human language and cognition. In H. W. Reese & R. Kail (Eds.), Advances in child development and behavior (pp. 101-138). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Cited by
437 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献