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Article
A Review of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Adolescents: Developmental and Contextual Considerations
Cognitive and Behavioral Practice
  • Julie M. Petersen, Utah State University
  • Patricia Zurita Ona, East Bay Behavior Therapy Center
  • Michael P. Twohig, Utah State University
Document Type
Article
Publisher
Elsevier Ltd
Publication Date
10-5-2022
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0
Disciplines
Abstract

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) offers a promising, transdiagnostic treatment approach for a wide range of mental health concerns in adolescents. Although research on ACT for adolescents is still developing, there is encouraging theoretical and empirical support in this area. The ability of ACT to adjust and account for developmental considerations and contexts in adolescence is discussed, alongside the theoretical support for using ACT with adolescents. A broad review of 34 studies on ACT with adolescents is then presented—ACT with adolescents has some preliminary support for anxiety, depression, disordered eating, chronic pain, and more. Detailed examples of how to implement each ACT process with adolescents are presented, along with a brief review of assessment tools. We hope this paper will act as an initial guide for clinicians implementing ACT with adolescents.

Author ORCID Identifier

Julie M. Petersen https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4146-5624

Citation Information
Julie M. Petersen, Patricia Zurita Ona and Michael P. Twohig. "A Review of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Adolescents: Developmental and Contextual Considerations" Cognitive and Behavioral Practice (2022) p. 1 - 53
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/michael-twohig/524/