Levin, M. E., & Hayes, S. C. (2009). ACT, RFT, and contextual behavioral science. In J. T. Blackledge, J. Ciarrochi, & F. P. Deane (Eds.), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Contemporary research and practice (pp. 1-40). Sydney: Australian Academic Press.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999) is part of a larger approach to psychology and related fields, which we have termed contextual behavioral science (CBS). In this chapter we want to describe the CBS approach, and explain how it relates to the theory, philosophy, and research strategy underlying ACT and Relational Frame Theory (RFT; Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, & Roche, 2001). Even a cursory look at shortcomings in the dominant research paradigm in applied psychology suggests the need for this discussion. These shortcomings include the lack of integration between basic and applied psychology (Hayes, 1998a), the slow rate of improvement in the effect sizes of applied interventions, failures in component analyses of some of our most successful technologies (Jacobson et al., 1996; Dimidjian et al, 2006), the failure of syndromal diagnosis to lead to specific etiologies (Kupfer, First & Regier, 2002), and the low rate of adoption of empirically supported treatments (ESTs) by practicing clinicians (Sanderson, 2002) . A new approach to applied psychological research is needed.