Definition
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a model of psychological intervention (See “Psychotherapy”) based on behavioral therapy that applies mindfulness and acceptance processes, together with commitment and behavior change processes, to create psychological flexibility (Hayes et al. 2006). Psychological flexibility refers to patterns of behavior that implies the ability to fully contact the present moment and the inner experiences that are occurring without defenses and, according to the context, persisting or changing in the pursuit of goals or personal values (Hayes et al. 2006).
ACT embraces a functional contextual philosophy of science based on the basic theory of language and cognition, is linked to the applied theory of psychopathology and psychological change (Hayes 2004), is theoretically rooted in the relational frame theory (Twohig 2012), and is one of the most representative...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Alonso-Fernández M, López-López A, Losada A, González J et al (2016) Acceptance and commitment therapy and selective optimization with compensation for institutionalized older people with chronic pain. Pain Med 17(2):264–277. https://doi.org/10.1111/pme.12885
Barban K (2016) Acceptance and commitment therapy: an appropriate treatment option for older adults with chronic pain. Evid Based Nurs 19(1):123
Davison T, Eppingstall B, Runci S et al (2016) A pilot trial of acceptance and commitment therapy for symptoms of depression and anxiety in older adults residing in long-term care facilities. Aging Ment Health 21(7):766–773. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2016.1156051
Hayes SC (2004) Acceptance and commitment therapy, relational frame theory, and the third wave of behavior therapy. Behav Ther 35:639–665. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(04)80013-3
Hayes SC, Strosahl KD, Wilson KG et al (2004) Measuring experiential avoidance: a preliminary test of a working model. Psychol Rec 54:553–578. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395492
Hayes SC, Luoma JB, Bond FW et al (2006) Acceptance and commitment therapy: model, processes and outcomes. Behav Res Ther 44:1–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.006
Hayes SC, Levin ME, Plumb-Vilardaga J et al (2013) Acceptance and commitment therapy and contextual behavioral science: examining the progress of a distinctive model of behavioral cognitive therapy. Behav Ther 44(2013):180–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2009.08.002
Kishita N, Takei Y, Stewart I (2017) A meta-analysis of third wave mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapies for older people. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 32(12):1352–1361. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4621
Majumdar S, Morris R (2019) Brief group-based acceptance and commitment therapy for stroke survivors. Br J Clin Psychol 58(1):70–90. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjc.12198
McCracken LM, Jones R (2012) Treatment for chronic pain for adults in the seventh and eighth decades of life: a preliminary study of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Pain Med 13(7):860–867. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4637.2012.01407.x
Molander P, Hesser H, Weineland S et al (2017) Internet-based acceptance and commitment therapy for psychological distress experienced by people with hearing problems: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Cogn Behav Ther 47(2):169–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2017.1365929
Petkus AJ, Wetherell JL (2013) Acceptance and commitment therapy with older adults: rationale and considerations. Cogn Behav Pract 20(1):47–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2011.07.004
Pots WTM, Fledderus M, Meulenbeek PAM et al (2016) Acceptance and commitment therapy as a web-based intervention for depressive symptoms: randomised controlled trial. Br J Psychiatry 208:69–77. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.114.146068
Ruiz FJ (2010) A review of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) empirical evidence: correlational, experimental psychopathology, component and outcome studies. Int J Psychol 10:125–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/028457199439937
Scott W, Daly A, Yu L et al (2017) Treatment of chronic pain for older adults 65 and over: analyses of outcomes and changes in psychological flexibility following interdisciplinary acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Pain Med 18(2):252–264. https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnw073
Twohig MP (2012) Introduction: the basics of acceptance and commitment therapy. Cogn Behav Pract 19(2012):499–507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2012.04.003
Wetherell JL, Afari N, Ayers CR et al (2011) Acceptance and commitment therapy for generalized anxiety disorder in older adults: a preliminary report. Behav Ther 42(1):127–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2010.07.002
Wetherell JL, Petkus AJ, Alonso-Fernandez M et al (2016) Age moderates response to acceptance and commitment therapy vs. cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 31(3):302–308. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4330
Witlox M, Kraaij V, Garnefski N et al (2018) An internet-based acceptance and commitment therapy intervention for older adults with anxiety complaints: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial. Trials 19:502. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-018-2731-3
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Mendoza-Ruvalcaba, N.M., von Humboldt, S., Arias-Merino, E.D., Leal, I. (2019). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. In: Gu, D., Dupre, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_70-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_70-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69892-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-69892-2
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences