Process-based cognitive behavior therapy (PB-CBT) may be informed by identifying shared mechanism... more Process-based cognitive behavior therapy (PB-CBT) may be informed by identifying shared mechanisms of disorder linked to shared processes of therapeutic change. Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a molar pathogenic process common to both generalized anxiety disorder and depression. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and metacognitive therapy (MCT) offer separate models of the relationship between RNT and emotional distress. In a pair of related studies, the relative degree to which processes specific to the two models accounted for variability in levels of generalized anxiety and depression in college student samples was evaluated. Across both studies, processes of cognitive fusion and obstructed valued living within the ACT model and beliefs about the negative consequences of RNT within the MCT model were most predictive of variability in levels of emotional distress. Limitations of this project as well as implications for further research and practice of PB-CBT for disorders of emotional distress are discussed.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in the context of its historical and progressive developm... more Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in the context of its historical and progressive development unfolded within three phases over the past 40 years. Events and influences in an initial phase that culminated in the development of comprehensive distancing as a precursor to ACT in the early 1980s preceded philosophical, theoretical, and conceptual refinements that took place during the next phase of ACT’s progression. These advancements, including the further explication of functional contextualism, rule governance, and relational responding, contributed to the emergence of ACT as a coherent transdiagnostic intervention by the turn of this century. Ever increasing outcome and process research within the last two decades during ACT’s third and most recent stage of progression have been instrumental in solidifying its current empirical status and expanding globalization.
The relative ability of four comedic sketches to induce amusement in the laboratory and its moder... more The relative ability of four comedic sketches to induce amusement in the laboratory and its moderation by dispositional differences in experiential approach as a form of positive emotion regulation were investigated. College student participants reported significant and equivalent diminished levels of negative affect relative to baseline following each sketch, while the level of positive affect induced by The Office exceeded that elicited by two of the three other sketches as well as by a top-ranked French comedic film clip. Regression models indicated that the two subscales of the Experiential Approach Scale and their interaction accounted for significant variability in negative mood reductions following the sketches. Unexpectedly, college student participants who enjoyed the greatest decrement in negative affect reported a regulation style in which anxiously clinging to positive emotions dominates over sustaining and savoring them. The limitations of this project and implications ...
Derealization and depersonalization and are commonly experienced by individuals with panic disord... more Derealization and depersonalization and are commonly experienced by individuals with panic disorder. Although interoceptive exposure (IE) is a key therapeutic component in the treatment of panic disorder, there currently are few recognized ways to elicit reactions that successfully mimic dissociative symptoms commonly experienced during panic. We examined the ability of several novel methods that elicit anomalous and confusing perceptual experiences to induce at least moderately intense dissociative reactions in a college student sample (N = 34). Two of the novel procedures (i.e., stripes and hand) and a task previously identified as effectively eliciting dissociative symptoms, strobe light plus three-dimensional (3D) glasses reliably induced derealization/depersonalization reactions. The implications of these findings for further research and the clinical practice of IE in treatment of panic attacks are discussed.
Process-based cognitive behavior therapy (PB-CBT) may be informed by identifying shared mechanism... more Process-based cognitive behavior therapy (PB-CBT) may be informed by identifying shared mechanisms of disorder linked to shared processes of therapeutic change. Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a molar pathogenic process common to both generalized anxiety disorder and depression. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and metacognitive therapy (MCT) offer separate models of the relationship between RNT and emotional distress. In a pair of related studies, the relative degree to which processes specific to the two models accounted for variability in levels of generalized anxiety and depression in college student samples was evaluated. Across both studies, processes of cognitive fusion and obstructed valued living within the ACT model and beliefs about the negative consequences of RNT within the MCT model were most predictive of variability in levels of emotional distress. Limitations of this project as well as implications for further research and practice of PB-CBT for disorders of emotional distress are discussed.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in the context of its historical and progressive developm... more Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in the context of its historical and progressive development unfolded within three phases over the past 40 years. Events and influences in an initial phase that culminated in the development of comprehensive distancing as a precursor to ACT in the early 1980s preceded philosophical, theoretical, and conceptual refinements that took place during the next phase of ACT’s progression. These advancements, including the further explication of functional contextualism, rule governance, and relational responding, contributed to the emergence of ACT as a coherent transdiagnostic intervention by the turn of this century. Ever increasing outcome and process research within the last two decades during ACT’s third and most recent stage of progression have been instrumental in solidifying its current empirical status and expanding globalization.
The relative ability of four comedic sketches to induce amusement in the laboratory and its moder... more The relative ability of four comedic sketches to induce amusement in the laboratory and its moderation by dispositional differences in experiential approach as a form of positive emotion regulation were investigated. College student participants reported significant and equivalent diminished levels of negative affect relative to baseline following each sketch, while the level of positive affect induced by The Office exceeded that elicited by two of the three other sketches as well as by a top-ranked French comedic film clip. Regression models indicated that the two subscales of the Experiential Approach Scale and their interaction accounted for significant variability in negative mood reductions following the sketches. Unexpectedly, college student participants who enjoyed the greatest decrement in negative affect reported a regulation style in which anxiously clinging to positive emotions dominates over sustaining and savoring them. The limitations of this project and implications ...
Derealization and depersonalization and are commonly experienced by individuals with panic disord... more Derealization and depersonalization and are commonly experienced by individuals with panic disorder. Although interoceptive exposure (IE) is a key therapeutic component in the treatment of panic disorder, there currently are few recognized ways to elicit reactions that successfully mimic dissociative symptoms commonly experienced during panic. We examined the ability of several novel methods that elicit anomalous and confusing perceptual experiences to induce at least moderately intense dissociative reactions in a college student sample (N = 34). Two of the novel procedures (i.e., stripes and hand) and a task previously identified as effectively eliciting dissociative symptoms, strobe light plus three-dimensional (3D) glasses reliably induced derealization/depersonalization reactions. The implications of these findings for further research and the clinical practice of IE in treatment of panic attacks are discussed.
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Papers by Robert Zettle