ACT with Anxiety Disorders

Abstract

In this chapter, we will discuss the application of ACT to the treatment of anxiety disorders, specifically panic disorder, specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, OCD and GAD (the application of ACT to PTSD and trauma more generally is discussed in the next chapter). There is compelling evidence for the role of experiential avoidance and cognitive fusion in the development and maintenance of these disorders, and the core psychological processes targeted by ACT interventions (decreasing emotional control/avoidance, decreasing fusion, building self as process, contacting self as context, defining valued life directions and building patterns of committed actions) seem to be making their way into many of the new anxiety disorder treatment protocols. Thus, we believe that the ACT model may be able to supplement or facilitate existing empirically-supported treatment, particularly where we know something about the effective components of empirically-supported treatments and these components are consistent with an ACT model. Sometimes existing empirically supported packages include elements that cannot be combined with ACT (e.g., cognitive restructuring). In these cases it seems to make more ethical sense to use ACT treatment protocols where the existing empirically supported alternative treatment is refused, unavailable, or unsuccessful. ACT is part of the empirical clinical tradition, and this conservative approach is the same as with all emerging technologies within that tradition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (chapter)