Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): An Analytical Review

Abstract

Acceptance and commitment therapy is the third wave of behaviour therapy. In Indian researches there is a paucity of researches on ACT, but the use of Acceptance and commitment therapy in psychotherapeutic management is increasing day by day. 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 outcome studies that are relevant to 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. ACT 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.