Effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Somatic Symptoms, Somato-Sensory Amplification, Self-Absorption, and Experiential Avoidance of University Students with Somatic Symptoms

BACKGROUND Internationally there have been many studies showing that the number of university students suffering from mental illness is growing and this problem should be addressed OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine 41 pharmacy students’ experiences of a small Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) -based intervention that was implemented as a 7-week course with weekly online modules. METHODS Students’ well-being, experiences of stress, organised studying and psychological flexibility were measured with questionnaires at the beginning and end of the course. Students’ experiences of the effectiveness of the course and were analysed from open-ended responses and a reflective journal. RESULTS The results show that students’ well-being and ability to manage time and effort increased during the course(p≤0.003). In their reflective journals, students described how their ability to manage stress in their studies, cope with their thoughts and feelings, focus on the things that are more important to them, and manage their time in studying and their well-being had improved. CONCLUSIONS This study showed that it is possible to foster students’ well-being in their studies. More research is needed to identify the long-lasting effects of these kind of interventions.

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Processes of change within acceptance and commitment therapy for university students: Preliminary evidence from a randomized controlled trial

Journal of American College Health ◽

10.1080/07448481.2019.1705828 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Laurence Morin ◽

Simon Grégoire ◽

Lise Lachance

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

University Students ◽

Acceptance And Commitment Therapy ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Processes Of Change ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Commitment Therapy ◽

Acceptance And Commitment

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Behavioral Activation and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in the Treatment of Anxiety and Depression in Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Behavior Modification ◽

10.1177/0145445520916441 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 014544552091644

Author(s):

Concepción Fernández-Rodríguez ◽

Sonia González-Fernández ◽

Rocío Coto-Lesmes ◽

Ignacio Pedrosa

Keyword(s):

Cancer Survivors ◽

Acceptance And Commitment Therapy ◽

Experiential Avoidance ◽

Behavioral Activation ◽

Emotional Problems ◽

Post Treatment ◽

Behavioural Activation ◽

Commitment Therapy ◽

Acceptance And Commitment

Behavioural Activation (BA) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) aim to reduce the inflexible avoidance of painful thoughts, feelings and memories and to encourage involvement in relevant activities, objectives which are clearly relevant to the situation of cancer survivors with emotional problems. With a view to evaluating and comparing the efficacy of both therapies, applied on a group basis, a randomized controlled trial was developed. Cancer survivors (age 18–65 years) with anxiety and/or depression were assigned at random to two experimental groups (BA; ACT) and a waiting list control group (WL). Of the 66 cancer survivors randomized to trial (intention-to-treat sample), 46 participants ( M = 51.49; SD = 6.88) completed the intervention (BA, n = 17; ACT, n = 12; WL, n = 17) (per-protocol sample). The emotional state, experiential avoidance and behavioural activation of the participants was evaluated in the pre- and post-treatment and in a 3-month follow-up using standardized instruments. Both treatment groups showed statistically significant changes, indicating an improvement in all the result variables in the post-treatment and follow-up as compared to the pre-treatment. BA showed better results than ACT regarding impact on anxiety and activation. This greater efficacy may have been due to factors such as the emphasis placed in BA on behavioural activation and the central role played in it by functional analysis. The key role played by experiential avoidance and behavioral activation in the maintenance and treatment of emotional problems in cancer survivors is discussed. Raw data are available online ( http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/m7w688khs8.1 )

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A Preliminary Examination of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-Based Program for Incarcerated Domestic Violence Offenders

Violence and Victims ◽

10.1891/0886-6708.vv-d-17-00106 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 213-228 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Meg Berta ◽

Amie Zarling

Keyword(s):

Domestic Violence ◽

Acceptance And Commitment Therapy ◽

Experiential Avoidance ◽

Past Research ◽

Childhood Experiences ◽

Domestic Assault ◽

Preliminary Examination ◽

Commitment Therapy ◽

Acceptance And Commitment ◽

Adverse Childhood

Batterers intervention programs (BIPs) have only a marginal impact on domestic violence (DV) recidivism, in part because treatment attrition is high. The current study evaluates a new BIP based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (called ACTV, Achieving Change Through Values-Based Behavior) in a sample of incarcerated DV offenders who failed to complete community-based BIP (N = 23). The current study examined participants' risk factors and assessed criminal justice outcomes in the 1 year following treatment completion. The men exhibited high levels of experiential avoidance, adverse childhood experiences, psychopathy, and attachment when compared to clinical and forensic samples from past research. Consistent with the theory underlying ACTV, experiential avoidance decreased significantly over the course of treatment. In addition, 1 out of 22 (4.5%) had a domestic assault charge in the 1-year follow-up period. Overall, the current study offers preliminary support for the use of ACTV with noncompliant, incarcerated offenders.

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