Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D
bSci21Media, LLC
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, or “ACT” represents a behavior analytic approach explicitly designed to leverage the power of language, and to overcome barriers to functioning inherent in language, to help people lead more fulfilling lives. Because language is so important to our lives, and sets humans apart from other species, it can overgeneralize and get in the way. One of the primary roles of ACT is to undercut deleterious stimulus function of our thoughts, rather than to change the thoughts themselves, such that we may come to track the contingencies that matter to us most in our lives.
Since 1986, over 280 Randomized Controlled Trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of ACT processes across a variety of settings. Moreover, the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science has over 8,000 members, with their 17th Annual World conference this year in Ireland. Because ACT is becoming increasingly popular in more traditional areas of behavior analysis, particularly those in which Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) typically practice, we have put together a resource list below of bSci21’s content as it relates to ACT.
Most of the content consist of articles, though some are on-demand videos worth Type II CEs for BCBAs. The topics we cover are wide ranging, including basic concepts, organizational performance, sports, divorce and interpersonal relations, anxiety, grief, teaching, parenting, and more.
We plan to update this article periodically as we publish new content. In the meantime, you can bookmark this article for your own future reference, or for those you know you are interested in learning more about ACT, or connecting ACT to novel topics.
Acceptance and Commitment Training and the Scope of Practice of BCBAs
How MMA champs fight anxiety with ACT and behavior analysis.
DJ Moran & Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on the Behavioral Observations Podcast
Motivate your ABA students with Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
Changing Four Behaviors that Predict Divorce with Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
Twitter Predicts Heart Disease – Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Can Help
The Zen of Verbal Behavior: A Look at the Verbal Behavior of Zen Master Hyon Guk Sunim
Increasing Parent Engagement and Treatment Effectiveness using Values
Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D is a science writer, social philosopher, behavioral systems analyst, and the President and Founder of bSci21Media, LLC, which aims to connect behavioral science to the world in an engaging, non-academic way. Dr. Ward received his PhD in behavior analysis from the University of Nevada, Reno under Dr. Ramona Houmanfar. He has served as a Guest Associate Editor of the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, and as an Editorial Board member of Behavior and Social Issues. His publications follow a theme of behavioral systems analysis, organizational performance, theory & philosophy, and language & cognition. He has also provided ABA services to children and adults with various developmental disabilities in day centers, in-home, residential, and school settings, and previously served as Faculty Director of Behavior Analysis Online at the University of North Texas. Dr. Ward can be reached at [email protected]
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