Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Disorders: A Review

Abstract

This paper reviews Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Obsessive Compulsive (OC) spectrum disorders (e.g., trichotillomania and chronic skin picking). It reviews the philosophy of science that underlies ACT: functional contextualism; the basic research that informs it: learning theory, rule governed behavior and relational frame theory; ACT’s model: psychological flexibility; and the research to date that supports ACT for OCD and OC spectrum disorders. Limitations to this research and future directions are discussed. Keywords: Acceptance and commitment therapy, obsessive compulsive disorder.