Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy compared to CBT+: Preliminary results

Background and objectives Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a young psychotherapeutic approach. It expands traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) especially by mindfulness and valued living. Available research findings indicate ACT to be generally efficacious compared to control conditions. Even though ACT is increasingly applied in clinical practice, only little research has been conducted in this field. Hence, to examine the effectiveness of ACT, the present study aims to compare treatment outcome of group ACT and group CBT+, which consists of CBT and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) sessions, within a naturalistic setting. Methods Sixty-seven inpatients of a German psychiatric department were assigned to either ACT or CBT+ condition and assessed with respect to symptom measure as well as ACT-specific outcomes. Results Both groups improved on measures of symptom severity as well as ACT-specific components. There were no significant between-group differences. Conclusion Results indicate that ACT appears to show comparable results as CBT+. Findings are discussed in terms of to what extend outcomes of ACT and CBT+ are distinct and which possibly influencing factors could be considered in future research and treatment.