Dr Jessica Kingston, Royal Holloway
A dismantling approach to “Third Wave” interventions: Examining the effects of Values and Committed Action.
“Third wave” CBTs refers to a diverse set of empirically supported, multicomponent, treatments that differ conceptually and methodologically from one another, but that share important commonalities. Central points of unity are the intention to: (1) increase non-judgemental awareness and mindful acceptance of all experiences, including difficult ones, to allow them to be fully in one’s awareness and to let them pass (i.e., mindfulness and acceptance skills) and (2) help clients identify and pursue personally meaningful activities that focus on values, life satisfaction and meaning (i.e., values). Mindfulness research has dominated the evidence-base, with substantially less of a focus on the therapeutic effects of working with clients on their values. In this talk I will present a series of experiments that examine the effect of values and committed action on depression, paranoia, well-being and quality of life, as well as examining the interplay between mindfulness and values.