Abstract

CHAGAS, Mariana de Toledo; GUILHERME, Gisela  and  MORIYAMA, Josy de Souza. Group clinical intervention based on acceptance and commitment therapy: Anxiety management. Acta comport. [online]. 2013, vol.21, n.4, pp. 495-508. ISSN 0188-8145.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) proposes acceptance of thoughts and feelings and the recongnition of contingencies that are related to them, enabling behavior changes that can also change them. The purpose of this work was to report and discuss a groupal clinical intervention experience, based on ACT, for patients with anxiety complaint, held in the school-clinic of a public university. The group was conducted by two psychologists and registered by three students of the Psychology course. Six participants were selected for the group based on the previous screenings existing in the school-clinic. After individual interviews, the participants were invited to the intervention phase. Thirteen therapeutic sessions were held, focusing on anxiety as an adaptive response, the impossibility of controlling thoughts and feelings, consequences of experiential avoidance behaviors, acceptance, goals, values-based living and coping with situations. Practical activities and metaphors were used in most sessions. Most participants reported that they have started to accept thoughts and feelings, to expose themselves and face situations that had previously been avoided. This study has a descriptive exploratory application of the ACT concepts in a group. It is suggested that controlled studies are conducted to evaluate the efficacy from such kind of intervention.

Keywords : acceptance; acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT); experiential avoidance; anxiety; group therapy; case study; behavior analysis; emotion.

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