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Experiential avoidance (EA) is considered a key factor in human suffering. However, research in this area is often based on self-report measures with limitations in psychometric properties. To study EA beyond self-report methodology, researchers have used behavioral (e.g., Zettle et al., 2012) and physiological measures (e.g., Karekla, Forsyth, & Kelly, 2004). In their 2012 paper, Zettle and colleagues argue EA is better conceptualized as a functional response class than hypothetical construct, finding a relationship between levels of EA across two analogue tasks involving physical discomfort. However, researchers have yet to study EA across fundamentally distinct contexts. In the current study, the relationship between state and trait EA in contexts of physical and social discomfort using behavior analogue measures was investigated. Performance on the cold pressor task and a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) were evaluated in a convenience sample. It was hypothesized that TSST endurance would predict cold pressor task endurance, further supporting the notion that high avoiders experience similar difficulties across different contexts. Contrary to this hypothesis, endurance of one task was not predictive of endurance of the other. State and trait EA were also evaluated as predictors of cold pressor and TSST Speech and Arithmetic endurance. Based on these analyses, state EA was the strongest predictor of cold pressor and TSST endurance above and beyond heart rate, perceived pain tolerance, and interpersonal sensitivity. Given these results, contextual behavioral science researchers interested in studying EA should turn their focus to understanding the nuances of context., Author(s): Meaghan M. Lewis [sup.1] , Amy E. Naugle [sup.2] , Tabitha A. DiBacco [sup.2] , Kyra Katte [sup.2] , Callum A. Smith [sup.2] , Audrey R. Blematl [sup.2] [sup.3] [...]

Persistent complex bereavement/complicated grief occurs when, after a period of 12 months following a death, there remains an ongoing intense yearning and sorrow for the deceased, preoccupation with the death and its circumstances, difficulty accepting its reality, and disruption in personal identity. This case study illustrates the successful application of Complicated Grief Treatment (CGT), a manualized research-supported intervention, with a husband and wife each receiving individual therapy simultaneously with separate clinicians. The core of CGT involves graded completion of imaginal and situational revisiting (i.e., exposure) exercises. To target maladaptive rumination and counterfactual thinking more explicitly, strategies from a research-based treatment for trauma, Cognitive Processing Therapy, were also incorporated for one member of the couple. To our knowledge, CGT has not been examined with couples receiving individual therapy delivered simultaneously. As such, practitioners have little information about how to proceed with cases where multiple members of the same family are experiencing complicated grief. We will detail the treatment provided, outlining the course of care for each member of the couple, highlighting unique adjustments made to tailor implementation to each individual and to deliver the intervention simultaneously. Quantitative and qualitative data show the effects of treatment on symptoms of complicated grief, depression, and relationship satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]