PSYCHOTHERAPIE BRAUCHT MEHR ALS EIN KOCHREZEPT: EINE PRAXISORIENTIERTE DARSTELLUNG DER THEORETISCHEN GRUNDLAGEN DER AKZEPTANZ- UND COMMITMENT-THERAPIE

When teaching psychotherapy skills, one can pursue different strategies: one can describe the form of specific steps that therapists have to implement, like in a recipe. There is an alternative to using the form as a guide: one can use the function of the psychotherapeutic skill and use that as a guide by continually asking the question what one wants to achieve with each specific step. Because of its philosophical, theoretical and basic science roots, this focus on function is particularly important when learning Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). These roots include the philosophy of Functional Contetxtualism as well as the assumptions and findings of Applied Behavioral Analysis and Relational Frame Theory. This article presents these roots of ACT in a practical way and thus provides readers with a valuable foundation not only for learning ACT but also for the more effective application of other psychotherapy skills.