A review of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) empirical evidence: Correlational, experimental psychopathology, component and outcome studies.

“This article analyzes the general empirical evidence concerning Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). In the first place, a brief description of the ACT philosophical and theoretical roots is presented. Subsequently, the most fundamental characteristics of the ACT model for psychological intervention are described. Then, a review of the correlational, experimental psychopathology and component, and outcome studies that are relevant for the ACT model empirical status is exposed. In general, the evidence regarding all these types of studies is very coherent and supports the ACT model. Specifically, experiential avoidance is found to be related with a wide range of psychological disorders and mediates the relation between different type of symptoms and psychological constructs; component studies are showing that acceptance-based protocols are usually more efficacious than other control-based protocols; outcome studies show the efficacy of ACT in a wide range of psychological problems and suggest that it is working through its hypothesized processes of change. However, the limitations of the actual empirical status of ACT are recognized and further research is emphasized.”