Through the extended evolutionary meta-model, and what ACT found there: ACT as a process-based therapy
Considers ACT through the extended evolutionary process-based framework.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy connects a willingness to experience difficult thoughts and feelings with action in directions that matter. The work collected here examines values, psychological flexibility and applications in health and everyday life.
Values are not simply a list of admirable goals. These studies distinguish what matters to people, the pressure they feel around it and how successfully they put it into practice. Those distinctions shape both measurement and interpretation.
The collection also connects ACT with process-based therapy. A process-based perspective asks how particular therapeutic practices might fit a person and context, rather than assuming every part of a treatment package works in the same way.
Start with the conceptual papers and values studies, then explore the applications. A preliminary study, a single-case analysis and a larger trial provide different kinds of evidence; none should be presented as a universal treatment promise.
Key papers: a reading path
Letting Go, Creating Meaning: The Role of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Helping People Confront Existential Concerns and Lead a Vital Life
Discusses ACT, existential concerns and living a vital life.
A cluster-randomised controlled trial of values-based training to promote autonomously held recovery values in mental health workers
Tests values-based training with mental health workers.
Relationships between valued action and well-being across the transition from high school to early adulthood
Examines values and well-being across the transition beyond school.
Value congruence, importance and success and in the workplace: Links with well-being and burnout amongst mental health practitioners
Studies personal and work values alongside well-being and burnout.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for improving the lives of cancer patients: a preliminary study
Reports a preliminary application of ACT with people diagnosed with cancer.
Truce: Outcomes and mechanisms of change of a seven-week acceptance and commitment therapy program for young people whose parent has cancer
Examines an ACT programme for young people whose parent has cancer.
Measures and tools
Collaborators in these papers
Coauthors in this selection include Frank P. Deane, Lindsay G. Oades, Trevor P. Crowe, Retta Andresen, Clarissa W. Ong, Stefan G. Hofmann. Full author lists appear on the linked paper pages.
How to cite the core work
Cite the specific paper that supports the point you are making, rather than this reading guide. Starting references:
Ong, C. W., Ciarrochi, J., Hofmann, S. G., Karekla, M., & Hayes, S. C. (2024). Through the extended evolutionary meta-model, and what ACT found there: ACT as a process-based therapy. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 32, 100734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2024.100734
Ciarrochi, J., Hayes, L., Quinlen, G., Sahdra, B., Ferrari, M., & Yap, K. (2022). Letting go, creating meaning: The role of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in helping people confront existential concerns and lead a vital life. In R. G. Menzies, R. E. Menzies, & G. A. Dingle (Eds.), Existential Concerns and Cognitive-Behavioral Procedures (pp. 283–302). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06932-1_17
Williams, V., Deane, F. P., Oades, L. G., Crowe, T. P., Ciarrochi, J., & Andresen, R. (2015). A cluster-randomised controlled trial of values-based training to promote autonomously held recovery values in mental health workers. Implementation Science, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-015-0363-5