Open, Aware, and Active: Contextual Approaches as an Emerging Trend in the Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
Brian Thompson, PhD, Scientific Mindfulness blog
Thursday, March 31, 2011
In [a] recent post, I wrote about how Dr. Steven Hayes coined the term "third wave" to describe the recent crop of mindfulness and acceptance-based treatments. In a new paper, Dr. Hayes and his colleagues at the University of Nevada-Reno explore this notion further.
The article examines the theoretical underpinnings of the current generation of mindfulness and acceptance-based psychotherapies, and at the published empirical data supporting the theory. This article provides a fantastic overview of the current state and development of many of these treatments.
Towards the end of article, Hayes and colleagues suggest abandoning the term "third wave" in favor of what they call "contextual cognitive behavioral therapy" or contextual CBT. According to the authors, contextual CBT differs from traditional CBT in several important ways:
1. Contextual CBT emphasizes changing the context and function of psychological events (e.g., thoughts, emotions, physical sensation) rather than the content, accuracy, and frequency. For example, a contextual CBT therapist is more interest in changing how someone relates to self-critical thinking than in changing the thoughts themselves.
2. Contextual CBT focuses more on what the authors call a "transdiagnostic approach to mental health." What this means is that, rather than treat specific diagnoses (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder), contextual CBT therapists focus more on processes (e.g., emotion regulation).
3. Contexutal CBT therapists are encouraged to apply these methods to themselves. For example, leaders of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy groups are encouraged--even required--to maintain their own mindfulness practices.
4. Contextual CBT is less about throwing away techinques and interventions from other treatments than in taking what is useful and applying it in ways that are consistent with the theories underlying contextual CBT.
5. In their final distinction, the authors suggest contextual CBT is being applied to a much broader and deeper range of problems within the human conditions, such as spirituality and values. (The authors admit that this point is more of a "judgment call" than an accepted fact.)
I highly recommend this article for readers of Scientific Mindfulness. It's a great review article for much of what we write about in this blog.
To download a copy of the article, click on the full citation below:
Hayes, S.C., Villatte, M., Levin, M., & Hildebrandt, M. (2011). Open, Aware, and Active: Contextual Approaches as an Emerging Trend in the Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 7, 141-168.
Brian Thompson, PhD, Scientific Mindfulness blog
Thursday, March 31, 2011
In [a] recent post, I wrote about how Dr. Steven Hayes coined the term "third wave" to describe the recent crop of mindfulness and acceptance-based treatments. In a new paper, Dr. Hayes and his colleagues at the University of Nevada-Reno explore this notion further.
The article examines the theoretical underpinnings of the current generation of mindfulness and acceptance-based psychotherapies, and at the published empirical data supporting the theory. This article provides a fantastic overview of the current state and development of many of these treatments.
Towards the end of article, Hayes and colleagues suggest abandoning the term "third wave" in favor of what they call "contextual cognitive behavioral therapy" or contextual CBT. According to the authors, contextual CBT differs from traditional CBT in several important ways:
1. Contextual CBT emphasizes changing the context and function of psychological events (e.g., thoughts, emotions, physical sensation) rather than the content, accuracy, and frequency. For example, a contextual CBT therapist is more interest in changing how someone relates to self-critical thinking than in changing the thoughts themselves.
2. Contextual CBT focuses more on what the authors call a "transdiagnostic approach to mental health." What this means is that, rather than treat specific diagnoses (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder), contextual CBT therapists focus more on processes (e.g., emotion regulation).
3. Contexutal CBT therapists are encouraged to apply these methods to themselves. For example, leaders of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy groups are encouraged--even required--to maintain their own mindfulness practices.
4. Contextual CBT is less about throwing away techinques and interventions from other treatments than in taking what is useful and applying it in ways that are consistent with the theories underlying contextual CBT.
5. In their final distinction, the authors suggest contextual CBT is being applied to a much broader and deeper range of problems within the human conditions, such as spirituality and values. (The authors admit that this point is more of a "judgment call" than an accepted fact.)
I highly recommend this article for readers of Scientific Mindfulness. It's a great review article for much of what we write about in this blog.
To download a copy of the article, click on the full citation below:
Hayes, S.C., Villatte, M., Levin, M., & Hildebrandt, M. (2011). Open, Aware, and Active: Contextual Approaches as an Emerging Trend in the Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 7, 141-168.
