Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Psychological and Physiological Illnesses: A Systematic Review for Social Workers (Report‪)‬

Social workers provide services to a variety of clients and face the challenge of finding therapeutic interventions designed to meet the multifaceted needs of the diverse populations they serve. This article provides a review of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999), including its theoretical foundation, empirical support, and utility. Considered to be one of the "third wave" cognitive--behavioral therapies, ACT has been gaining momentum in intervention research literature over the past decade. Current ACT research shows promising outcomes for challenging cases with clients displaying psychotic features (Bach & Hayes, 2002; Gaudiano & Herbert, 2006), generalized anxiety disorder (Dalrymple & Herbert, 2007), epilepsy (Lundgren, Dahl, & Hayes, 2008; Lundgren, Dahl, Melin, & Kies, 2006; Lundgren, Dahl, Yardi, & Melin, 2008) chronic pain (Vowles & McCracken, 2008; Wicksell, Melin, Lekander, & Olsson, 2009), obsessive--compulsive disorder (Twohig, Hayes, & Masuda, 2006), depression (Forman, Herbert, Moitra, Yeomans, & Geller, 2007), and trichotillomania (Woods, Wetterneck, & Flessner, 2006). While still building evidence-based support, ACT studies have not been synthesized in the social work literature. The aims of this article are twofold: first, to explain the basic premises of the ACT approach to social workers, and, second, to understand the extent to which ACT is efficacious with psychological and physiological health illnesses. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK