Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Among Adolescents.
Ten once-a-week ACT sessions gave seven teens sharp, lasting relief from PTSD symptoms in community and residential settings.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Seven teenagers with post-traumatic stress took part in ten weekly ACT sessions. Therapists used acceptance and mindfulness drills plus values-based action plans.
The team tracked PTSD scores with kid-friendly rating scales and clinician checklists. They ran a multiple-baseline design so each teen started treatment at a different time.
What they found
Every teen showed big drops in both self-report and clinician PTSD scores. Gains held steady three months after the last session.
Kids said they could notice scary thoughts without fighting them and still do homework, sports, or chores that mattered to them.
How this fits with other research
Lappalainen et al. (2015) got similar large drops in depression using ACT, but they did it online with almost no therapist time. The new study shows the same core skills also work face-to-face for trauma in teens.
Porter et al. (2008) used ACT plus habit-reversal for hair-pulling adults and saw the same steady multiple-baseline pattern. The 2014 paper moves ACT earlier in the timeline and targets PTSD instead of body-focused habits.
Ooms-Evers et al. (2021) also slashed PTSD in youth, but they used prolonged exposure and EMDR during an eight-day hospital stay. ACT in the 2014 study achieved like-sized gains with once-a-week visits in community clinics, a cheaper fit for most families.
Why it matters
If you serve teens with trauma histories, you now have a brief ACT package that cuts PTSD symptoms without long hospital stays or heavy exposure drills. You can weave values cards, mindfulness minutes, and committed-action homework into existing group or individual slots. Try starting with one teen, track daily stress ratings, and add ACT steps as you see the baseline stabilize.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The number of individuals who meet diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a small percentage of those exposed to trauma; many youth who do not meet criteria for PTSD continue to experience problematic posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptomology. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has shown preliminary effectiveness in the treatment of adult PTSD, but its effectiveness in treating PTS in youth is unknown. Using a multiple-baseline design, this study investigated the effectiveness of 10 weeks of ACT to treat PTS in youth. Four adolescents from a community sample and three adolescents from a residential sample participated. The Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for Children and Adolescents (CAPS-CA), Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS), and Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale were completed at pretreatment, posttreatment, and 3-month follow-up. Individuals reported baseline data for 7 to 66 days. Symptom and process measures were completed at each session. Results revealed a decrease in PTS symptomology across both samples with mean reductions in self-reported PTS symptomology at posttreatment of 69% and 81% for the community and residential samples, respectively, and an overall 68% and 84% respective reduction at follow-up. Reductions in clinician rated measures of PTSD were observed for all participants with mean reductions of 57% and 61% in the community and residential samples at posttreatment, and 71% and 60% at follow-up, respectively. Results provide preliminary support for ACT as a treatment for adolescent PTS. Empirical and clinical implications as well as limitations and future directions are discussed.
Behavior modification, 2014 · doi:10.1177/0145445513510527