Acceptance And Commitment Therapy

Question 1

What form of therapy is ACT

Answer 1

Act emerged from behaviourist approaches to therapy

Question 2

Behaviour Therapy is concetualized within 3 categories or generations

Answer 2

Behaviour Therapy
CBT
Third generation or wave of behaviour therapy

Question 3

Act is

Answer 3

Grounded in behaviourism but underpinned by analysis of cognitive processes

Question 4

The third wave of behaviourism supports

Answer 4

Openness and acceptance of psychological events including those that are traditionally perceived to be negative or irrational

Question 5

The chief purpose of Act is to

Answer 5

Encourage individuals to respond to situations constructively, while simultaneously negotiating and accepting cognitive events and corresponding feelings rather than replacing them

Question 6

A key feature of ACT is the emphasis on the notion that

Answer 6

Behaviour and emotions can exist simultaneously and independently

Question 7

ACT encouraged the individual to

Answer 7

Accept and integrate into their lived experiences challenging affective responses and to recognise and eliminate the controlling dimensions that specific contextual situations exert upon them

Question 8

ACT facilitates therapeutic outcomes that assist clients in

Answer 8

processing a variety of presenting problems, emphasizing its utility and generalizability within a range of contexts

Question 9

• ACT is underpinned by functional contextualism Being a

Answer 9

a pragmatic philosophical position that recognizes that psychological events (encompassing cognition, affective responses and behaviour) are influenced by antecedents within a specific context (Hayes, 1993)

Question 10

Core components of functional contextualism are

Answer 10

a) focus on the whole event,
b) sensitivity to the role of context in understanding the nature and function of an event,
c) emphasis on a pragmatic truth criterion,
d) specific scientific goals against which to apply the truth criterion’

Question 11

• A reductionist approach to therapy that focuses

Answer 11

solely on the analysis of behaviour, rather than placing such responses within an historical and contextual position is rejected in ACT (Hayes, 2004)

Question 12

The approach utilizes relational frame theory (RFT), a behavior analytic theory of human behavior that serves to explain

Answer 12

the complex interplay of behaviours and thought processes (Neukrug, 2011)

Question 13

RFT provides a conceptual framework for understanding

Answer 13

The learned ability to arbitrarily relate events, mutually and in combination, and to change the functions of events based on these relations’ (Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda & Lillis, 2006, p. 8)

Question 14

According to RFT maladaptive processes occur as a result

Answer 14

of the individual avoiding ‘private events’ (cognitive processes and affective responses) based on their negative appraisal of these events

Question 15

• As the individual engages in ACT they learn to

Answer 15

integrate these private events, consolidate personal values and adopt new ways of behaving (Dewane, 2008)

Question 16

A key assumption of ACT is that

Answer 16

is that psychological processes in most individuals have the potential to be destructive, in contrast to the predominant Western view that fundamentally, humans are psychologically healthy beings (Harris, 2006)

Question 17

• Unlike cognitive-behavioural approaches that reinforce the dynamic interplay between cognition, behavior and affect and the focus on replacing maladaptive thought processes with healthier cognitions, ACT teaches individuals to

Answer 17

‘just notice’, accept and embrace private experiences and focus on behavioural responses that produce more desirable outcomes (Bach & Hayes, 2002)

Question 18

• Through this process the individual is encouraged to

Answer 18

exercise increased psychological flexibility, drawing on personal values that lead to meaningful action (Zettle, 2005)

Question 19

• The acronym FEAR is sometimes utilised in ACT to highlight key variables associated with psychological disequilibrium:

Answer 19

: Fusion of thoughts;
Evaluation of experience;
Avoidance of experience;
Reason-giving for behavior (Takahashi, Muto, Tada & Sugiyama, 2002)

Question 20

• Inherent in the practice of ACT are a number of mindfulness skills that include:

Answer 20

acceptance of thoughts and emotions;
• cognitive defusion which involves developing accurate awareness of thoughts and emotions so that they have less impact;
• expansion that makes room for unpleasant emotions and urges in contrast to trying to suppress or reject them
• awareness of the moment by being open and receptive; and
• observation of self (Harris, 2006)