Association for Behavior Analysis International

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy/Training (ACT) is expanding within behavior analysis. As such, behavior analysts are discovering how to grow their scope of competence to include ACT as well as how to effectively train others in its use. Moreover, behavior analysts are incorporating ACT into traditional behavior analytic methods to provide compassionate service delivery in areas such as parent training. The first presentation provides a qualitative review on the perspectives and recommendations from ACT experts regarding behavior analysts’ scope of competence within ACT. The second presentation presents data on the use of behavioral skills training (BST), along with self-practice, to teach behavior analysts ACT skills using the ACT Matrix. The third presentation examines the integration of ACT into behavior parent training (BPT) on parental implementation of behavior strategies. The fourth presentation explores how the use of ACT within the field of behavior analysis can bring humanity and compassion to research and service delivery.

The target audience is those who have an interest in acceptance and commitment therapy/training (ACT) and ways to incorporate it in behavior analytic work with competency and compassion. Audience members should have a basic understand of private events, rule-governed behavior, and derived relational responding.

In response to the increasing interest in Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT), the scope of practice in ACT for applied behavior analysis (ABA) practitioners has been discussed, and some guidelines have been suggested. The next step is to discuss the scope of competence for board certified behavior analysts® (BCBAs®) to incorporate ACT in their practices as part of their behavior analytic interventions in a careful, appropriate, and scientific manner. The current study compiled and analyzed 13 ACT experts’ opinions and recommendations on this topic through a qualitative data analysis of semi-structured interviews. Three major themes emerged: (1) understanding what ACT is, (2) required knowledge, skills, and training, and (3) establishing standards, guidelines, and measurements of competency. During the presentation, these topics will be discussed to suggest a future framework for developing standards, guidelines, measurements of competency criteria, and required training in ACT for behavior analysts. Some suggestions for behavior analysts to start gaining ACT competency and for the field to develop such future framework as a collaborative effort will be made.

The world is changing rapidly, global culture is in flux, and yet centuries-old inequities persist. The field of applied behavior analysis (ABA) is situated squarely within the purpose of serving humanity. This is evident to us, as the vast majority of researchers and practitioners in ABA have dedicated our careers to helping empower families living with autism and other developmental disabilities. While this dedication to serving humanity seems obvious to us in the field of ABA, it seems it has not been entirely obvious to others that we lead with our hearts. What’s more, there is a growing yearning inside the field of ABA to connect with other humans in more complete and fundamental ways. This presentation will make the case for embracing compassion in the field of ABA and discuss ways to use Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) to empower us to live compassion in our daily research and practice.

Applied behavior analysts are often responsible to work with individuals with autism and their caregivers to provide effective and empirically supported interventions and supervise the staff that provide the direct services. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an intervention behavior analysts can access as an effective treatment tool to teach skills aimed at increasing psychological flexibility for clients, caregivers, and staff. Additionally, self-practice has the potential to decrease stress and potential burnout for behavior analysts. Using a delayed multiple baseline design, the current research examined the efficacy of individual behavioral skills training (BST) for teaching behavior analysts ACT skills and intervention using the ACT Matrix through teleconferencing. The use of self-practice was an added component to the learning. Results indicated that all participants (a) acquired new ACT skills, (b) learned to use the ACT Matrix as a form of case conceptualization, and (c) found self-practice positively added to the learning experience.