Abstract
In recent years, a new “wave” of mindfulness based Cognitive Behavior Therapies (CBT) has become popular. Such approaches include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; Acceptance and commitment therapy: An experiential approach to behaviour change. New York: Guilford Press, 1999), Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy for Depression (Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: A new approach to preventing relapse. New York: Guilford Press, 2002), and Mindfulness-based Stress Management (Full catastrophe living: using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. New York: Dell Publishing, 1990). In contrast to traditional CBT, these approaches often minimize attempts to change the form and frequency of dysfunctional thoughts. Is there any way to integrate traditional CBT with mindfulness based CBT? To answer this question, we discuss the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of one form of traditional CBT (Rational-Emotive and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and one form of mindfulness based CBT (ACT). We argue that some aspects of each therapy can be integrated. However, in order to prevent techniques from being used haphazardly or inconsistently, we suggest that the different forms of CBT need to be driven by a common philosophical orientation (e.g., functional contextualism) and theoretical orientation (e.g., Relational Frame Theory).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Addis, M. E.,& Jacobson, N. S. (1996). Reasons for depression and the process and outcome of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapies. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 64(6), 1417–1424
Beck, J. S. (1995). Cognitive therapy: Basics and beyond (Vol. xiv, 338 pp.). New York, NY, US: The Guilford Press
Blackledge, J. T. (2003). An introduction to relational frame theory: Basics and applications. The Behavior Analyst Today, 3(4), 421–433
Bond, F. W., & Bunce, D. (2003). The role of acceptance and job control in mental health, job satisfaction, and work performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(6), 1057–1067
Ciarrochi, J., Scott, G., Deane, F. P., & Heaven, P. C. L. (2003). Relations between social and emotional competence and mental health: A construct validation study. Personality & Individual Differences, 35, 1947–1963
Ciarrochi, J., & West, M. (2004). Relationships between dysfunctional beliefs and positive and negative indices of well-being: A critical evaluation of the Common Beliefs Survey-III. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 22(3), 171–188.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). If we are so rich, why aren’t we happy? American Psychologist, 54(10), 821–827
Dobson K. S. (1989). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of cognitive therapy for depression. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 57(3), 414–419
Dryden, W. (2001). Reason to change: A Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) workbook (Vol. xii, 246 pp.). New York, NY, US: Brunner-Routledge
Ellis, A. (1990). Is rational-emotive therapy (ret) “rationalist” or “constructivist.” Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 8, 169–195
Ellis, A. (2001). Overcoming destructive beliefs, feelings, and behaviors: New directions for Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (421 pp.). Amherst, NY, US: Prometheus Books
Feldner, M., Zvolensky, M., Eifert G., & Spira, A. (2003). Emotional avoidance: An experimental test of individual differences and response suppression using biological challenge. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 41(4), 403–411
Haaga D. A., & Davison, G. C. (1993). An appraisal of rational-emotive therapy. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 61(2), 215–220
Hajzler, D. J., & Bernard, M. E. (1991). A review of rational-emotive education outcome studies. School Psychology Quarterly, 6(1), 27–49
Hayes, S. C. (1995). Why cognitions are not causes. The Behavior Therapist, 18, 59–60
Hayes, S. C. (2004). Acceptance and commitment therapy, relational frame theory, and the third wave of behavioral and cognitive therapies. Behavior Therapy, 35(4), 639–665.
Hayes, S. C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Roche, B. (Eds.) (2001). Relational frame theory: A post-Skinnerian account of human language and cognition. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
Hayes, S. C., Brownstein, A. J., Haas, J. R., & Greenway, D. E. (1986). Instructions, multiple schedules, and extinction: Distinguishing rule-governed from schedule-controlled behavior. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 46(2), 137–147
Hayes, S. C., Hayes, L. J., & Reese, H. W. (1988). Finding the philosophical core: A review of Stephen C. Pepper’s World Hypotheses. Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 50, 97–111
Hayes, S. C., Masuda, A., Bissett, R., Luoma, J., & Guerrero, L. F. (2004). DBT, FAP, and ACT: How empirically oriented are the new behavior therapy technologies? Behavior Therapy, 35, 35–54
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and commitment therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change (Vol. xvi, 304 pp.). New York, NY, US: The Guilford Press
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., Wilson, K. G., Bissett, R. T., Pistorello, J., Toarmino, D., Polusny, M., Dykstra, T. A., Batten, S. V., Bergan, J., Stewart, S. H., Zvolensky, M. J., Eifert, G. H., Bond, F. W., Karekla, M., & McCurry, S. M. (2004). Measuring experiential avoidance: A preliminary test of a working model. The Psychological Record, 54, 553–578.
Hayes, S. C., & Wilson K. G. (1995). The role of cognition in complex human behavior: A contextualistic perspective. Journal of Behavior Therapy & Experimental Psychiatry, 26(3), 241–248
Hayes, S. C., Wilson, K. W., Gifford, E. V., Follette, V. M., & Strosahl, K. (1996). Emotional avoidance and behavioral disorders: A functional dimensional approach to diagnosis and treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 1152–1168
Hayes, S. C., Zettle, R. D., & Rosenfarb, I. (1989). Rule-following. In S. C. Hayes (Ed.), Rule-governed behavior: Cognition, contingencies, and instructional control (Vol. xix, pp. 191–220, 391 pp.)
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. New York: Dell Publishing
Kapleau, P. (1989). The three pillars of Zen: Teaching, practice, and enlightenment. New York: Anchor
Korzybski, A. (1933). Science and sanity. An introduction to non-Aristotelian systems and general semantics (798 pp.). Lancaster, PA: International Non-Aristotelian Library Publ. Co
Laudan, L. (1981). A confutation of convergent realism Philosophy of Science 48: 19–49
Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder (Vol. xvii, 558 pp.). New York, NY, US: The Guilford Press
Meichenbaum, D. (1985). Stress inoculation training. New York: Pergamon Press
Myers, D. G. (1992). The pursuit of happiness: Who is happy and why. New York: William Morrow and Company
Neenan, M., & Dryden, W. (2002). Cognitive behaviour therapy: An A–Z of persuasive arguments. London: Whurr Publishers
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Parker, L. E., Larson, J. (1994). Ruminative coping with depressed mood following loss. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 67(1), 92–104
Orlinksy, D. E., & Howard K. I. (1986). Process and outcome of psychotherapy. In S. L. Garfield, & A. E. Bergin (Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (pp. 311–383). New York: Wiley
Paulhus, D. L., & Reid, D. B. (1991). Enhancement and denial in socially desirable responding. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 60(2), 307–317
Segal, Z. V., & Williams, J. M. G., Teasdale, J. D. (2002). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression : A new approach to preventing relapse. New York: Guilford Press
Sukhodolsky, D. G., Golub, A., & Cromwell, E. N. (2001). Development and validation of the Anger Rumination Scale. Personality & Individual Differences, 31(5), 689–700
Thorpe, G. L., Parker, J. D., & Barnes, G. S. (1992). The Common Beliefs Survey III and its subscales: Discriminant validity in clinical and nonclinical subjects. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 10(2), 95–104
Thorpe, G. L., Walter, M. I., Kingery, L. R., & Nay, W. T. (2001). The Common Beliefs Survey-III and the Situational Self-Statement and Affective State Inventory: Test-rest reliability, internal consistency, and further psychometric considerations. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 19(2), 89–103
Tosi, D. J., Forman, M. A., Rudy, D. R., & Murphy, M. A. (1986). Factor analysis of the Common Beliefs Survey III: A replication study. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 54(3), 404–405
Walen, S. R., DiGiuseppe, R., & Dryden, W. (1992). A practitioner’s guide to rational-emotive therapy (2nd ed.). New York, NY, US: Oxford University Press
Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1994). The PANAS-X: Manual for the positive and negative affect schedule-expanded form. Iowa City: The University of Iowa
Wegner, D. M., & Zanakos, S. (1994). Chronic thought suppression. Journal of Personality, 62(4), 615–640
Weissman, A. (2000). Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS). In: K. Corcoran, & J. Fischer (Eds.), Measures for clinical practice: A sourcebook (Vol. 2, pp. 187–190). New York: Free Press
Wenzlaff, R. M., & Wegner, D. M. (2000). Thought suppression. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 59–91
Wulfert, E., & Hayes, S. C. (1988). Transfer of a conditional ordering response through conditional equivalence classes. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 50(2), 125–144
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Address correspondence to Joseph Ciarrochi, Department of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ciarrochi, J., Robb, H. & Godsell, C. Letting a little nonverbal air into the room: Insights from acceptance and commitment therapy Part 1: Philosophical and theoretical underpinnings. J Rat-Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 23, 79–106 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-005-0005-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-005-0005-y