ACT-Inspired Case Conceptualization for Trauma
Booz Allen
Department of Veterans Affairs
Yale University
University of Nevada, Reno
Key Points
- Case conceptualization is a core step in executing ACT with trauma survivors.
- Determine what the contributing factors are for the current presentation.
- Determine which of the ACT processes are in most need of intervention.
- Ongoing assessment will help determine whether therapy is progressing.
- Therapists can maximize the transdiagnostic benefits of ACT on PTSD and co-occurring problems.
Materials Downloads
ACT for Trauma Online Training
Expand your ACT tools to treat clients experiencing PTSD and trauma issues.
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Transcript
Although this course has focused primarily on the intervention components of ACT, it should be noted that effective ACT treatment rests on the bedrock of a solid initial assessment and case conceptualization.
Assessment within ACT may be informal, like the assessment of the client’s avoidance strategies, or formal, such as a standardized measure of experiential avoidance, like the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire or AAQ. Further, some processes, such as values, can be assessed with either an informal or a formal method of measurement.
Coe, E., Batten, S. V., & Meyer, E. C. (2020). Acceptance-based behavioral therapy for PTSD. In M. Tull & N. Kimbrel (Eds.), Emotion in posttraumatic stress disorder: Etiology, assessment, neurobiology, and treatment (p. 545–566). Academic Press.
One of the shared values within the community of ACT practitioners and researchers is that those kinds of tools should not be considered proprietary and should be made as widely available as possible. So, measures like the AAQ and a variety of values assessment handouts and metrics are available free of charge at contextualscience.org. Although not central to the ACT model, therapists may also choose to use traditional measures of symptomatology as another source of information about a client’s functioning, but not necessarily with the goal of reducing or eliminating those symptoms.
Coe, E., Batten, S. V., & Meyer, E. C. (2020). Acceptance-based behavioral therapy for PTSD. In M. Tull & N. Kimbrel (Eds.), Emotion in posttraumatic stress disorder: Etiology, assessment, neurobiology, and treatment (p. 545–566). Academic Press.