Association for Contextual Behavioral Science

Association for Contextual Behavioral Science
Formation2005
HeadquartersUnited States
Membership
approx. 9,000 international members
2023 President
Andrew Gloster, Ph.D.
Websitecontextualscience.org

The Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) is a worldwide nonprofit professional membership organization associated with acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and relational frame theory (RFT) among other topics.[1] The term "contextual behavioral science" refers to the application of functional contextualism to human behavior, including contextual forms of applied behavior analysis, cognitive behavioral therapy, and evolution science.[2] In the applied area Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is perhaps the best known wing of contextual behavioral science, and is an emphasis of ACBS, along with other types of contextual CBT, and efforts in education, organizational behavior, and other areas. ACT is considered an empirically validated treatment by the American Psychological Association, with the status of "Modest Research Support" in depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, mixed anxiety disorders, and psychosis, and "Strong Research Support" in chronic pain.[3] ACT is also listed as evidence-based by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the United States federal government which has examined randomized trials for ACT in the areas of psychosis, work site stress, and obsessive compulsive disorder, including depression outcomes.[4] In the basic area, Relational Frame Theory is a research program in language and cognition that is considered part of contextual behavioral science, and is a focus of ACBS.[5] Unlike the better known behavioral approach proposed by B.F. Skinner in his book Verbal Behavior, experimental RFT research has emerged in a number of areas traditionally thought to be beyond behavioral perspectives, such as grammar, metaphor, perspective taking, implicit cognition and reasoning.[6][7]

  1. ^ James D. Herbert; Evan M. Forman (Nov 2010). Acceptance and Mindfulness in Cognitive Behavior Therapy. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470912485. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  2. ^ Hayes, Steven C.; Barnes-Holmes, Dermot; Wilson, Kelly G. (14 February 2022). "Contextual Behavioral Science". Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. 1 (1–2): 1–16. doi:10.1016/j.jcbs.2012.09.004.
  3. ^ "APA website on empirical treatments". Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  4. ^ "SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices". Archived from the original on 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
  5. ^ Blackledge, J.T. (2003). "An Introduction to Relational Frame Theory: Basics and Applications". 14 February 2022. The Behavior Analyst Today, 3, 421–34.
  6. ^ Barnes-Holmes, Y.; Barnes-Holmes, D. & McHugh, L. (2004). "Teaching Derived Relational Responding to Young Children". 14 February 2022. JEIBI, 1, 4–16.
  7. ^ Cullinan, V. & Vitale, A. (2008). "The contribution of Relational Frame Theory to the development of interventions for impairments of language and cognition". 14 February 2022. Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis, 2(4)–3(1), 122–135.