Title: Is ACT Just a Fad? Addressing the Critics
1Is ACT Just a Fad?Addressing the Critics
- James D. Herbert, Ph.D.
- Drexel University
2Emergence of Criticism
- As ACT has moved into the mainstream, a variety
of criticisms have emerged from within the
academic community - As ACT becomes more popular, we can anticipate
even more criticism from even more voices - Common theme ACT is merely the latest
therapeutic fad to litter the mental health
landscape
3Lets outline the criticisms so far, examine
them critically and honestly, and explore how we
as a community may respond
4Complaints about ACT
- Overly-hyped claims getting ahead of the data
- Excessive enthusiasm among those interested the
C-word - Grandiose visions
- Proselytizing ACT as a way of life.
- Promotes undue influence by seeking to identify
principles and technologies that could be used to
impact behavior without their explicit consent
5More Criticisms
- Experiential exercises in ACT training are
coercive manipulative - Theres nothing really new here
- Premature dissemination to the public via
self-help books - Both ACT and especially RFT are plagued by
obscurantist jargon
6Lets look at each of these in turn
7Getting Ahead of the Data
- Must examine evidential warrant of specific
claims - Ratio of theoretical to empirical papers isnt a
proxy. Nor are dreams/visions - Some critics are clearly unaware of the data that
exist those who are correctly note that its
limited, but dont generally compare specific
claims with evidence - ACT proponents have in fact been appropriately
cautious in claims - Our response Continue to be clear about
specific claims
8Excessive Enthusiasm
- Largely based on reactions to listserv, and to
reactions of some professors to their students
returning inspired from workshops - But enthusiasm per se is only a problem if it
interferes with critical thinking. Any evidence
of this? - Our response Make sure not to be blinded by
enthusiasm
9The C word Is ACT a Cult?
- Cult label usually evoked by
- A closed system
- a charismatic leader
- a strong profit motive
- financial and/or sexual exploitation of
vulnerable populations - a hierarchy of secretive levels to pass through
in order to gain special knowledge or status - intolerance of dissent
- Such groups also
- challenge the status quo
- offer a grand vision
- engender high levels of enthusiasm
10Is ACT a Cult?
- The first set of features dont apply, but the
second set clearly do - However, these latter features are poor
discriminators of science vs. pseudoscience or
cults - Our response This is silly ignore it
11Grandiose Visions
- Rightly or wrongly, ACT does indeed aspire to
great things - Helps to understand history of behavioral
analysis to appreciate the historical context - Critical to distinguish specific claims from
distal goals/dreams the former are subject to
direct examination via evidential warrant the
latter are not - Compare biotechnology conference last month in
Philadelphia - Problem is that mainstream psycho-therapies are
cautious about big claims, whereas many dubious
ones are not - Our response Clarify explicitly the distinction
between specific claims and distal visions
12Proselytizing ACT as a Way of Life
- Two variations Clinicians must adopt an ACT
perspective to their own life, the focus of the
clients presenting problem is inappropriately
shifted to ACT-consistent goals - Although ACT does suggest that clinicians try out
some principles on themselves, it doesnt require
them to adopt any particular belief system - Re. clients, again this is not unique to ACT, as
all psychotherapies attempt to socialize the
client to their model. The key in all cases is
informed consent - Our response We could probably be clearer on
these points
13ACT Seeks Undue Influence
- Familiar criticism to radical behaviorists
- Ethics surrounding parameters of informed consent
is an important cultural value, and like all
values, must be decided independent of science
per se - Extreme Libertarian stance rules out all public
health interventions (e.g., programs promoting
smoking cessation, safe sex to prevent STDs,
routine diagnostic procedures like mammograms and
prostate exams, childhood vaccinations) - The fact that a technology could possibly be
misused is no reason to stifle science - Our response Participate in the broader public
ethical dialogue
14ACT Offers Nothing New
- Generally argued by those with minimal
familiarity with ACT. Ironically, CBT folks who
make this argument have themselves been on the
receiving end of this allegation from
psychoanalysts others - Many (though not all) techniques and strategies
are indeed openly borrowed, and so arent new - What is new is the organizing model, and
especially the close link with theory
philosophy - Our response Point this out when challenged
15 Experiential Exercises in Training Are Coercive
Manipulative
- Experiential exercises used to highlight
consciously self-reflective nature of ACT - But must remember audience, and be very careful
to avoid coercion, even implicitly - Degree of focus on experiential exercises remains
an unresolved issue - Our response Examine this issue openly within
the community
16Self-Help Books
- Legitimate debate over appropriate threshold for
direct dissemination via popular literature - One extreme must have strongly supportive data,
not only of general approach, but its
effectiveness in the self-help format and for the
specific problem in question - Other extreme Anything goes
- Reasonable people can disagree about this, but it
is in no way unique to ACT - Our response Encourage authors to be
appropriately cautious, while participating in
the broader dialogue
17Obscurantist Jargon
- The problem is that one persons obscurantist
jargon is anothers technical vocabulary - Ironic, in that all other areas of natural
science have technical languages - To evaluate jargon, must look at things like
theoretical coherence, precision, scope, and
connectivity - Our response Develop the language as necessary,
but be mindful of Occams razor. Distinguish
scientific talk from clinical talk
18Bottom Line Criticisms Fall into Four Camps
- Those based on ignorance
- Those based on style
- Those in reaction to a challenge to the status
quo - Those that address substantive issues
- Critical to distinguish these, as each calls for
different responses
19Criticisms Based on Ignorance
- Educate (e.g., journals, workshops, books,
presentations), with a sensitivity to the
audience
20Criticisms Based on Style
- Attempt to understand the reaction, and decide
how to respond. We are not obligated to address
every stylistic criticism. But we should be
mindful of our audience and our purpose
21Criticisms Based on Challenges to the Status Quo
- Continue to do good science, including modifying
theories and technologies based on data - Science is inherently self-correcting, so if ACT
lives up to its promise it will eventually win
hearts and minds - But be wary of striking the pose of Galileo it
isnt enough to be novel we must also be
right
22Substantive Criticisms
- Carefully consider substantive criticisms,
especially those challenging the evidential
warrant of specific claims and specific
theoretical issues - Then, offer a thoughtful response, and remain
open to change when appropriate based on
arguments and data