Graduation Date
Summer 2021
Document Type
Project
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in Psychology, option Academic Research
Committee Chair Name
Dr. Christopher Walmsley
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Carrie Moses
Second Committee Member Affiliation
Community Member or Outside Professional
Keywords
Applied behavior analysis, Acceptance and commitment training, ACT skills training
Subject Categories
Psychology
Abstract
The interest in acceptance and commitment training (ACT) from within the applied behavior analysis (ABA) community has increased as evidenced by recently published literature addressing the need to examine the acceptability and utilization of ACT within ABA. However, there is limited literature on the perspectives of those working in the field of ABA on the use of ACT. In the present study a survey was conducted of ABA practitioners working in rural northern California to evaluate their level of interest in ACT, their perceptions of ACT being within the scope of practice of ABA, and any perceived challenges in developing their own personal scope of competence in the use of ACT. The results of the survey found that a majority of respondents were interested in research articles and continuing education courses on ACT and indicated a high level of acceptability of ACT as an intervention that is within the scope of practice of ABA. However, when asked about their confidence level in knowledge of ACT procedures and strategies or their confident level in treatment success when incorporating ACT, most reported that their confident level was neither high nor low. Further, a majority of respondents reported that lack of mentorship and training as the main barrier to development of their own personal scope of competence in using ACT in applied settings. Recommendations and suggestions for future research on addressing these barriers to developing one’s scope of competence in ACT are discussed.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Morris, Jacqueline A., "A survey on the status of acceptance and commitment training in rural Northern California" (2021). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 506.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/506