Improving Therapist Psychological Flexibility While Training Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A Pilot Study

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) training often includes experiential elements aimed at improving therapist psychological flexibility, yet the effects of ACT training on therapist psychological flexibility have yet to be evaluated. This pilot study examines the effects of experiential phone c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cognitive behaviour therapy 2013-03, Vol.42 (1), p.1-8
Main Authors: Luoma, Jason B., Vilardaga, Jennifer Plumb
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Adult
Aged
Attitude
Burnout, Professional - psychology
Cognitive therapy
Cognitive Therapy - education
Cognitive Therapy - methods
Continuing education
Counseling - education
Female
Flexibility
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Personal Satisfaction
phone consultation
Pilot Projects
psychological flexibility
Referral and Consultation
Therapists
Training
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Summary:Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) training often includes experiential elements aimed at improving therapist psychological flexibility, yet the effects of ACT training on therapist psychological flexibility have yet to be evaluated. This pilot study examines the effects of experiential phone consultation as an adjunct to a standard continuing education workshop on psychological flexibility and burnout among therapists learning ACT. In this study, counselors taking a 2-day ACT workshop were randomly assigned to either six 30-min phone consultation sessions (n = 10) or no additional contact (n = 10). The results show that those in the consultation condition reported higher psychological flexibility at the 3-month follow-up compared to the workshop-only condition. Improvements in ACT knowledge, overall burnout, and personal accomplishment were found in both groups, independent of whether they received phone consultation, and this increase was maintained over time. In conclusion, ACT phone consultation contributed to counselor psychological flexibility above the workshop alone and appears to be feasible as a means to improve counselor psychological flexibility.
ISSN:1650-6073
1651-2316
DOI:10.1080/16506073.2012.701662