ACT in ABA: Quixotic or Pragmatic?
Abstract This session positions Acceptance & Commitment Training (ACT) as a pragmatic extension of ABA—not psychotherapy—and shows how to operationalize ACT processes within our seven dimensions. Dr. Szabo links the ACT hexaflex (acceptance, defusion, flexible selfing, present-moment awareness, values, committed action) and Relational Frame Theory to directly observable repertoires, so practitioners can talk about private events while still measuring public behavior. He offers a decision tree: start with direct contingency management; when results stall and clients can relationally frame, use brief ACT assessment (e.g., the Matrix, ACT FA analogs) to identify covert barriers, then return to function-matched contingencies strengthened by ACT-consistent skills (omnibus rule revision, values-driven goals, toleration). Practical tools include writing ABA-congruent goals (no “ACT goals”), building contingency contracts that embed values and committed action, coding language/behavior for “tells” and “reads,” and adopting a “fellow traveler” stance in supervision and service. The upshot: use ACT to make ABA work better, with stronger generalization and maintenance.
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What you'll learn
- 11. Differentiate ACT processes and RFT relations in ABA terms (i.e., as measurable repertoires and contingencies) without leaving scope of practice. 2. Apply a decision tree to determine when to rely on direct contingency management vs. when to add ACT-informed procedures.
- 23. Conduct brief ACT assessment steps (e.g., Matrix interview; ACT analog functional analysis manipulating EOs/AOs and rules) to pinpoint covert barriers.
- 34. Design contingency contracts and intervention plans that embed values and committed action while retaining observable, measurable ABA targets.
- 45. Revise unworkable client rules (rule-governed behavior) into effective, MO/SD-aligned rules that improve treatment adherence.
- 56. Discriminate and code verbal and nonverbal indicators (“tells/reads”) across the six ACT repertoires to guide in-the-moment coaching.
- 67. Write ABA-congruent goals (no “ACT goals”) and justify ACT components using BACB task-list items (e.g., reinforcement, MO/SD use, self-management, maintenance/generalization).
- 78. Adopt a collaborative “fellow traveler” stance in training/supervision to model psychological flexibility and improve treatment fidelity.
