Content validity and perceived utility of a self-help online acceptance and commitment therapy program focused on...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Digital Health

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for accessible online psychological interventions (OPIs).
• Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a common target for psychological interventions.
• Adapting established therapeutic models, like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), to online formats is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe and evaluate the content validity and perceived utility of a novel ACT-based OPI for RNT, named Disentangled, Aware, and Committed (DAC).
• To assess the feasibility of the DAC program as a transdiagnostic intervention for emotional symptoms.

Main Methods:

• Study 1: Content validity assessed by four ACT experts on clarity, utility, pertinence, and goal fulfillment of DAC components.
• Study 2: Forty-one clinical psychology trainees rated DAC components for clarity and perceived utility within a randomized controlled trial evaluating DAC's efficacy.

Main Results:

• Expert reviewers in Study 1 deemed all DAC components clear, useful, logically ordered, theoretically coherent with ACT, and goal-fulfilling.
• Trainee participants in Study 2 also rated DAC components as clear and potentially useful for their personal lives.

Conclusions:

• The Disentangled, Aware, and Committed (DAC) program demonstrates feasibility as a transdiagnostic online psychological intervention.
• DAC shows promise for treating and preventing emotional symptoms, particularly those related to repetitive negative thinking.
• Further research is warranted to confirm the efficacy of the DAC intervention.