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.

Behav Modif. 2007 Nov;31(6):772-99. Forman EM, Herbert JD, Moitra E, Yeomans PD, Geller PA. Department of Psychology, Drexel University. evan.forman@drexel.edu.

Posted: 11/16/2007



This article provided by The International Hypnosis Research Institute.

Enter your email address to subscribe to the IHRI Newsletter.

Emotional Freedom Emotional Freedom! This hypnosis session is designed to gently release the negative & corrosive emotions you are carrying around with you. Free yourself from the past and you’ll be able to focus on moving forward with your life!

Commitment Hypnosis Can Help Your Mind Work Together to Achieve Commitment! You’ll start to become a person of focus,drive,& passion who can develop rich relationships, achieve goals,& experience more happiness!! So commit to using this session!!

Forgiveness The Power to Forgive!During this hypnosis session,you’ll bypass the critical conscious mind that holds onto your hurts& access the perspective of the deep inner mind.You’ll be invited to see the perfection in the situation that you want to forgive!