McEnteggart, C. (2018). A Brief Tutorial on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as Seen Through the Lens of Derived Stimulus Relations. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 41, 215–227. DOI: 10.1007/s40614-018-0149-6.
This tutorial briefly outlines the conceptual background to acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and its early connection to the study of derived stimulus relations. The paper then provides an overview of how complex clinical behavior can be understood and manipulated in the areas where these connections exist. Specifically, the paper outlines four key areas of connection, and how these can be used to understand and treat aspects of human psychological suffering: transformation of functions; rule-governed behavior; relating relations and analogy; and the deictic stimulus relations and the verbal self. Finally, the article then briefly outlines a new framework for conceptualizing the dynamic interactions among derived stimulus relations and the potential implications this holds for ACT.