Acceptance and commitment therapy as a clinical anxiety treatment and performance enhancement program for musicians: Towards an evidence-based practice model in performance psychology

In this article we discuss the various options available to musicians wanting to treat their music performance anxiety (MPA), and we recommend that musicians work with a performance psychologist over the other available options. We also discuss the potential for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to serve as both a clinical anxiety treatment and performance enhancement program for musicians, while addressing the state of the research for both applications, as well as the research for a similar, mindfulness and acceptance-based performance enhancement program for athletes, i.e., the Mindfulness–Acceptance–Commitment (MAC) approach. In order for the field of performance psychology to develop into a more credible discipline, we believe practitioners working with musicians should follow an evidence-based practice model of care, in which empirically supported treatments for MPA and performance enhancement are promoted, and information about such treatments is disseminated among practitioners, musicians, and music teachers. Such a practice must become the norm in this field, because it will ultimately result in greater protections for those musicians seeking help for performance-related challenges by ensuring a higher level of professional accountability among practitioners. Lastly, we discuss some issues that may arise when applying ACT or the MAC approach to musicians.