Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a Transdiagnostic Approach to Treatment of Behavioral Health Concerns: A Concurrent Multiple Baseline Design Across Participants

Abstract

The current study examined the effects of an individual acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) protocol in three young adults with topographically different, but functionally similar, behavioral health concerns. Using a concurrent multiple baseline design across participants ( N = 3), clinically relevant target behaviors were collected daily as primary outcome measures. In addition, weekly self-report assessment of potential process variables and an assessment package at pretreatment, midpoint, posttreatment, and 3-month follow-up were used to evaluate process and outcomes of treatment. Results provided tentative support for ACT’s efficacy, with effects being most pronounced in Participants 2 and 3 with slight improvements in clinically relevant target behaviors. This study adds to the literature concerning process-based approaches to treatment by highlighting how ACT can be tailored to the needs of individuals with diverse behavioral health concerns.

A Case-Series Study Examining Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Experiential Avoidance-Related Mixed Anxiety and Depression in a Telehealth Platform

“…Today, consistent with its theory, ACT has demonstrated efficacy for a wide range of mental and behavioral health concerns (e.g., Grove et al, in press; Hiraoka et al, 2015)—further supporting its transdiagnostic utility, purportedly though promoting EL and decreasing EA (Dindo et al, 2017; Gloster et al, 2020). Aligned with, and extending, previous research (Spencer & Masuda, 2020), the present case-series study attempted to further explicate the processes of change within telehealth-delivered ACT through analysis of daily and weekly measures of EL and EA, along with behaviorally based outcome variables functionally linked to transdiagnostic mental health concerns.…”