Functional Analysis Case Conceptualization and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the Treatment of Anxiety-Related and Rumination Problems

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT; Hayes et al. 1999) is a process-based third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapy and an evidence- based approach for the treatment of various psychological conditions including anxiety. In contrast to other approaches, ACT adopts the notion that when psychological processes (i.e., language, thoughts, emotions) are applied inflexibly and incongruently to the context, also known as psychological inflexibility, they may lead to psychological suffering. ACT aims fostering Psychological Flexibility via six core inter-related processes including acceptance, cognitive defusion, self as content, present moment awareness, values clarification and committed action. ACT therapy sessions can be tailored to fit the needs and severity of each client’s difficulties while learning and practicing the six core processes of ACT. In this chapter, we present an ACT-based functional analysis case conceptualization, a hypothesized mechanism of problem maintenance and treatment plan of a woman suffering from repetitive negative thinking and anxiety- related problems.