This article analyzes the general empirical evidence concerning Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). In the first place, a brief description of the ACT philosophical and theoretical roots is presented. Subsequently, the most fundamental characteristics of the ACT model for psychological intervention are described. Then, a review of the correlational, experimental psychopathology and component, and outcome studies that are relevant for the ACT model empirical status is exposed. In general, the evidence regarding all these types of studies is very coherent and supports the ACT model. Specifically, experiential avoidance is found to be related with a wide range of psychological disorders and mediates the relation between different type of symptoms and psychological constructs; component studies are showing that acceptance-based protocols are usually more efficacious than other control-based protocols; outcome studies show the efficacy of ACT in a wide range of psychological problems and suggest that it is working through its hypothesized processes of change. However, the limitations of the actual empirical status of ACT are recognized and further research is emphasized.

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A review of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) empirical evidence: Correlational, experimental psychopathology, component and outcome studies.

Our radical behavioral interpretation of psychotherapy leads to the unexpected conclusion that the psychotherapeutic relationship is at the core of the therapeutic process. Unexpected, we say, because others usually cast radical behaviorism in the opposite camp, one in which the therapist avoids or discounts the value of a deep, emotional therapeutic relationship. Carl Rogers, for instance, commented, “To me [Skinner’s world] would destroy the human person as I have come to know him… in relationship… in the deepest moments of psychotherapy” (1961, p. 391).

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Functional Analytic Psychotherapy

, FAP has developed a strong following among therapists interested in the relational and interpersonal aspects of psychotherapy and human functioning, yet who are too strongly committed to testable hypotheses and integration with basic science to forego their behavioral roots. FAP is a comprehensive, ground-up approach to behaviorally conceptualizing therapist behavior within sessions to create optimal contingencies for client change and treatment implementation. The uniqueness of FAP lies in the recognition that no specific therapist behavior will serve to heighten intimacy and trust in the therapeutic relationship when provided by therapists that differ by appearance, gender, ethnicity, or temperament; genuine behaviors arise from contingent responses to client behavior, and a mindful awareness of which client behaviors require a response. For this reason, there is a certain difficulty in capturing the sense of a FAP intervention due to the importance of both the functional assessment and the therapist’s use of her own style and self as an instrument of change; for example, a disclosure of a clinically relevant personal loss will vary by therapist (e.g., Tsai et al., 2010), and a reaction that one client perceives as warm or encouraging by one therapist might sound strained or disingenuous coming from a different clinician. Though increasingly labeled a “third wave” behavioral therapy, FAP is fundamentally grounded in the Skinnerian tradition of a strong behavioral assessment (i.e., the titular functional analysis) of the client’s interpersonal repertoire as experienced by the therapist.

A Guide to Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: Awareness, Courage, Love, and Behaviorism

A widespread view among philosophers of language is that language use is rule-governed. Such a claim need not be problematic. One can, for instance, direct it against distorted notions of language.

On Rule-Following

to the Practice of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy.- to the Practice of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy.- FAP and Psychotherapy Integration.- FAP and Cognitive Behavior TherapyCognitive Behavior Therapy .- FAP and Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACTAcceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT ): Similarities, Divergence, and Integration.- FAP and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) .- FAP and Behavioral ActivationBehavioral Activation .- FAP and Psychodynamic TherapiesPsychodynamic Therapies .- FAP and Feminist TherapiesFeminist Therapies : Confronting Power and Privilege in Therapy.- FAP Across Settings and Populations.- FAP-Enhanced Couple TherapyFAP-Enhanced Couple Therapy : Perspectives and Possibilities.- FAP with Sexual MinoritiesSexual Minorities .- Transcultural FAP.- FAP Strategies and Ideas for Working with AdolescentsAdolescents .- The Application of FAP to Persons with Serious Mental IllnessMental Illness .- FAP with People Convicted of Sexual OffensesSexual Offenses .- FAP for Interpersonal Process GroupsInterpersonal Process Groups .

The practice of functional analytic psychotherapy

https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/337/33750209.pdf

Psicoterapia Analítico-Funcional y Terapia de Aceptación y Compromiso: teoría, aplicaciones y continuidad con el análisis del comportamiento

Functional Analytic Psychotherapy is based on principles of radical behaviorism, and emphasizes the contingencies that occur during a therapeutic session, the therapeutic context, functional equivalence, natural reinforcement, and shaping. Depression is a complex problem with multiple causes; the treatment of depression must therefore be approached from different angles. A clinical analysis of a patient with a depressive disorder and its treatment with this type of psychotherapy is presented. The different phases of intervention are described, with examples of the therapeutic relationship. The results were maintained for a period of one year and three months. Key words: DEPRESSION, FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS, FUNCTIONAL ANALYTIC PSYCHOTHERAPY. La Psicoterapia Analitica Funcional esta basada en los principios del conductismo radical y pone el enfasis en las contingencias que ocurren dentro de la sesion terapeutica, en el contexto terapeutico, en la equivalencia funcional, en el reforzamiento natural y en el moldeamiento. Por otro lado, la depresion es un tema complejo y de dificil solucion terapeutica que requiere de una explicacion y una intervencion pluricausal. Se presenta el analisis clinico de un caso que presentaba un trastorno depresivo y su tratamiento a traves de la aplicacion de esta psicoterapia. Se describen las distintas fases de la intervencion con ejemplos de la relacion terapeutica, y el mantenimiento de los resultados durante un periodo de un ano y tres meses. Palabras Clave: DEPRESION, ANALISIS FUNCIONAL, PSICOTERAPIA ANALITICA FUNCIONAL. ********** Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) (Kohlenberg and Tsai, 1991), along with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) (Hayes, Strosahl, and Wilson, 1999), are two approaches to therapy based on the principles of radical behaviorism and on findings regarding functional generalization, functional analysis of language, and equivalence relations. For further information in Spanish about the implementation of FAP and ACT, two pioneering texts published by Perez Alvarez are highly recommended: "Tratamientos Psicologicos" (1996a) and "La Psicoterapia desde un punto de vista conductista" (1996b). Functional analytic psychotherapy places emphasis on the contingencies that arise during the session, within the therapeutic context, in functional equivalence, natural reinforcement and shaping (Kohlenberg and Tsai, 1991, 1995). This approach places major importance on what the client says and does in the presence of the therapist, rather than on homework, events that take place in the family setting, or the thoughts the client may have during other parts of his or her daily life. These manifestations are termed clinically relevant behaviors (CRB), and are classified into three types that the therapist should learn to identify as therapeutic goals (Hayes, Kohlenberg and Melancon, 1989; Kohlenberg, Hayes and Tsai, 1993; Kohlenberg and Tsai, 1991, 1994a, 1994b, 1995). The first category of CRB (CRB1) are actual instances of the client's problems during the session, and which the therapist should try to diminish in frequency. Normally, these behaviors are under the control of aversive stimuli and often consist of avoidance behaviors. These problems may involve thoughts, perceptions, feelings, visions or memories that occur in the course of the session. The second category (CRB2) are improvements shown by the client during the session. In the early phases of treatment these behaviors are absent or are manifested only weakly, but as therapy progresses they should become more frequent. Behaviors considered (CRB3) are interpretations by the client of his or her own behavior and its causes. They involve observations and descriptions of the client's own behavior and the reinforcing, discriminative and eliciting stimuli associated with these behaviors. Kohlenberg and Tsai (1991) refer to CRB3 as "clients' talking about their own behavior and what seems to cause it," thereby expressing appropriate cause-effect relationships and describing functional relationships that have established the problem. …

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Application of functional analytic psychotherapy: clinical analysis of a patient with depressive disorder

Resumen es: La Psicoterapia Analitica Funcional forma parte de lo que se ha denominado la terapia de conducta de tercera generacion. Pone enfasis en las contingencia...

http://www.papelesdelpsicologo.es/pdf/1754.pdf

La conceptualización de casos clínicos desde la psicoterapia analítica funcional

La Psicoterapia Analitica Funcional se basa en los principios del conductismo radical, y enfatiza la importancia que tienen las contingencias que ocurren durante la sesion terapeutica, el contexto terapeutico, la equivalencia funcional entre los ambientes, el reforzamiento natural y el moldeamiento. Usa los dos principios basicos del Analisis de Conducta: la evaluacion funcional idiografica y la aplicacion de las intervenciones en vivo. En este trabajo se analizan las aportaciones y las novedades que hay en esta terapia. Las nuevas aportaciones son agrupadas en los siguientes puntos: la integracion con otras psicoterapias, la mejora de las habilidades terapeuticas, las formas de evaluacion y registro de datos dentro de la terapia, la aplicacion a diversos problemas clinicos y los estudios sobre su eficacia. Contributions and novelties from Functional Analytic Psychotherapy. Functional Analytic Psychotherapy is based on the principles of radical behaviourism. It emphasises the impact of events occurring during therapeutic sessions, the therapist-client interaction context, functional equivalence of environments, natural reinforcement, and shaping by the therapist. Functional Analytic Psychotherapy makes use of both the basic principles of behaviour analysis: individual functional assessment and application of in vivo treatment. This paper analyses novelties and new contributions of this therapy. New contributions are classified in various categories: integration with other psychotherapies, improvement of therapeutic skills, methods for evaluation and data recording in therapy, its application to several clinical problems, and studies of its efficacy.

https://www.cepsipsicologos.com/pdf/novedades_de_fap_psicothema%20_2007.pdf

Novedades y aportaciones desde la psicoterapia analítica funcional

Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP), based on the principles of radical behaviorism, emphasizes the impact of eventualities that occur during therapeutic sessions, the therapist-client interaction context, functional equivalence between environments, natural reinforcement and shaping by the therapist. This paper reviews recent studies of FAP from the published literature and classifies them into different categories, i.e., 1) integration with other therapies, 2) supervision and improvement of therapeutic skills, 3) methods for evaluation and data recording in therapy, 4) effectiveness and efficacy, 5) the relationship between thoughts and emotions, and 6) application to clinical problems and new types of application.

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Rafael Ferro García

Papers

Psicoterapia Analítico-Funcional y Terapia de Aceptación y Compromiso: teoría, aplicaciones y continuidad con el análisis del comportamiento

Application of functional analytic psychotherapy: clinical analysis of a patient with depressive disorder

La conceptualización de casos clínicos desde la psicoterapia analítica funcional

Novedades y aportaciones desde la psicoterapia analítica funcional

Recent Studies in Functional Analytic Psychotherapy.