journal papers
ACT for OCD
Abstract: This study evaluated the effectiveness of ACT for patients with treatment resistant OCD. Results demonstrated that ACT is an effective treatment, particularly for anxiety and depression, believability and distress of obsessions and need to response to them.
Click here to download →
Abstract: This study looked at the effectiveness of ACT for treating OCD. Results show that ACT can be an effective intervention for the difficult thoughts,feelings, and behaviors common in OCD.
Abstract: This study investigated the effects of adding group acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
to adults diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who were already on an optimal dose of (SSRIs). Results show that the addition of ACT to treatment reduced OCD symptoms.
Abstract: This study examined the effectiveness of ACT treatment for patients with OCD as compared with ACT treatment with taking clomipramine or taking clomipramine alone. Results demonstrated that ACT treatment was the most effective intervention for reducing OCD symptoms.
Abstract:This study evaluated the effectiveness of an 8-session Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as an OCD intervention. At the end of the treatment, all clients reported a reduction in compulsions, anxiety, depression, believability of obsessions and need to act on compulsions.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the effects of time perspective therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and narrative therapy on severity of symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Results showed significant decreases in symptom severity in both the narrative and ACT groups.
Abstract: This paper is a response to ACT vs. ERP for OCD: Is It War or Marriage. It outlines areas of the paper that misrepresent ACT and its use as an intervention for OCD.
Abstract: This paper discusses the use of Exposure therapy for OCD as informed by an ACT framework. It provides suggestions around how to prepare, select, set up, and conclude exposure exercises from an ACT perspective and includes a case example.
Abstract: This study examined willingness to experience unpleasant thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations as a predictor of change in adults with OCD. Results found that willingness to experience these things was a marker for successful exposure treatment for OCD.
Abstract: Although exposure therapy is often considered a gold standard behavioral intervention for pathological anxiety, questions remain surrounding the mechanisms underlying exposure interventions, and some individuals are characterized by suboptimal treatment outcomes. Recently, a formulation known as the inhibitory learning theory, which is grounded in basic science principles of extinction learning and memory, has been proposed to provide a more parsimonious mechanistic explanation for the effects of exposure than previous, habituation-based models [Craske, M.G., Kircanski, K., Zelikowsky, M., Mystkowski, J., Chowdhury, N., & Baker, A. 2008].
Abstract: Full appreciation of the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) requires both effect size data and individual rates of positive response. Response rates are particularly helpful for clinicians when choosing among treatment options. However, systematic reviews on cross-study response rates have not been conducted, possibly due to the absence of a standardized metric for calculating response rates. We conducted a systematic review of the treatment outcome literature to determine overall response rates to CBT for anxiety disorders and whether current methods of defining treatment response influence overall response rates. Our database search (2000-2014) resulted in 87 studies that reported response rates and included at least one CBT condition.
Abstract: Clinical perfectionism is associated with various cognitive processes including performance monitoring and emotion regulation. This study analyzed neurological data from a randomized controlled trial for clinical perfectionism that compared acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to a waitlist control. The objective was to assess the effect of ACT on neural activation. Twenty-nine participants underwent a functional near-infrared spectroscopy assessment during which they completed behavioral tasks designed to elicit error detection and error generation at pre- and posttreatment. The hemodynamic response function (HRF) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and right inferior parietal lobe was analyzed using mixed effects models.
Abstract: The current study examined psychological inflexibility and self-compassion as theoretically relevant mediators and moderators of outcomes following acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for clinical perfectionism. Fifty-three participants with clinical perfectionism were randomized to either a 10-session ACT condition or a 14-week waitlist control condition (only 39 completed the posttreatment assessment). Outcomes tested include concern over mistakes, doubting of actions, personal standards, quality of life, symptom distress and functional impairment, and valued action.
What if most of the chaos in your mind goes to the background by learning research-based life skills and getting clear about what matters to you?
Subscribe to my monthly newsletter playing-it-safe.
Get real, practical, and research-based skills to stop "playing-it-safe" and get unstuck from worries, fears, anxieties, obsessions, and panic.
Frequently asked questions about ACT beyond OCD
What is OCD?
Are there different types of OCD?
How do I know I'm doing mental compulsions?
Why is it so hard to let go of obsessions?
Are there memoirs about OCD that I can read?
