Relational Behavior and ACT: A Dynamic Relationship

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and its counterpart, relational frame theory (RFT), represent emerging areas of research and professional interest for behavior analysts. We extend traditional RFT approaches by emphasizing relational framing as a dynamic pattern of behavior with implications for ACT-based strategies implemented by behavior analysts in practice and in research. We borrow from emerging approaches within affective dynamics, relational density theory, and the hyper-dimensional multilevel model to develop some immediate considerations for practitioners. We then extend an approach grounded in relational dynamics to the six core processes of the ACT hexaflex not only to influence negative affective patterns of relational behavior but also to promote greater psychological flexibility and well-being. Finally, we turn this account inward to discuss our own rigidity as a field and the necessity to engage more flexibly with our own science, ultimately to improve the lives of clients whom we serve.