Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a contextual-behavioral approach to psychotherapy and other behavioral health concerns that has progressively attracted attention from both researchers and clinicians. ACT's psychological flexibility model relies on middle-level terms that, despite being less precise than behavioral principles, are seen as being valuable for teaching and practicing ACT. One such term is cognitive defusion, which refers to the reduction of stimulus function transformation that occurs through verbal relations. In other words, defusion aims to minimize the influence of verbal relations, such as thoughts, on behavior, when doing so leads to adaptive behavior and valued living. Recently, some authors have stressed the importance of functionally defining middle-level terms, establishing clear links between the concept and basic behavioral processes. This article begins this endeavor by analyzing these links with respect to cognitive defusion. First, we briefly contextualize ACT's theoretical roots. Second, we present cognitive defusion as a therapeutic intervention, reviewing its objectives, procedures, outcomes, and hypothesized processes as stated in the relevant literature. Third, the outlined process of change is critically examined, leading to a new conceptualization of cognitive defusion. Finally, the conceptual, clinical, and research implications of this new conceptualization are considered.Keywords acceptance and commitment therapy . cognitive defusion . process of change . middle-level terms . relational frame theory * Daniel A.

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Diversos autores da Análise do Comportamento debatem sobre o conceito de self, incluindo B. F. Skinner, os proponentes da Psicoterapia Analítica Funcional (FAP) e da Terapia de Aceitação e Compromisso (ACT). Entretanto, apesar da relevância dessas duas modalidades terapêuticas, as discussões a respeito do self têm carecido de uma integração entre as propostas. O presente artigo tem como objetivo fazer um breve levantamento sobre a noção de self na obra de Skinner e nos escritos da FAP e da ACT, apontando diferenças e semelhanças. Para isso, foi apresentado o processo de construção do conceito de self desde as formulações preliminares a respeito do Eu na obra Skinneriana, passando pelos textos da FAP e da ACT. A partir dessas definições, foram descritos padrões de interação entre o indivíduo e o ambiente em termos de relações funcionais e princípios comportamentais, culminando em três categorias diagnósticas funcionais que exemplificam os problemas psicológicos mais relatados nos consultórios.

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