Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Posttraumatic Psychopathology: A Group-Based Telehealth Intervention

Transdiagnostic treatments are needed to address the diverse manifestations and effects of trauma-related psychopathology. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a promising intervention, although little is known about its application among trauma-exposed civilians. A single-arm pilot study evaluated outcomes of a virtual, group-based ACT intervention for trauma delivered through a training clinic.

Five female clients (mean age=42.6 years) with a history of criterion A trauma completed an 11-week skills group and repeated measures assessing posttraumatic and related psychopathology symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]), emotion regulation, quality of life, posttraumatic growth, and experiential avoidance. Paired-samples t tests were used to assess pre- to postintervention effects.

All clients completed the intervention, suggesting high acceptability. Analyses of pre- to postintervention effects demonstrated significant reductions in depression (d=1.16, p=0.03) and anxiety (d=0.95, p=0.05) symptoms but not in PTSD symptoms; effect sizes for significant changes were large. Significant and large increases in effective use of emotion regulation strategies (d=1.02, p=0.04) and posttraumatic growth (d=1.18, p=0.03) were also observed. Experiential avoidance, a hypothesized treatment mechanism in ACT, decreased from pre- to postintervention (d=1.22, p=0.03).

Findings provide initial evidence for acceptability and beneficial clinical outcomes of a virtual, group-based ACT intervention to address the transdiagnostic consequences of traumatic stress.