Grappling with the Complexity of Behavioral Processes in Human Psychological Suffering: Some Potential Insights from Relational Frame Theory
New RFT wording lets you call ACT defusion an ABA procedure without losing clinical meaning.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Harte et al. (2023) wrote a think-piece, not an experiment. They asked: can new Relational Frame Theory (RFT) ideas give BCBAs clearer words for why ACT defusion works? The paper walks step-by-step from basic RFT rules to the clinical move of saying ‘I notice I’m having the thought that…’.
What they found
The authors map defusion to RFT terms like ‘relational network’ and ‘transformation of function’. They argue this bridge lets you write precise treatment plans that still look like ABA. No new data; the payoff is a shared vocabulary.
How this fits with other research
Hoffmann et al. (2016) already showed ACT fits ABA when private events drive problem behavior. Harte et al. (2023) widen the path by giving the exact RFT labels to use in notes and supervision.
Donati et al. (2019) ran a lab RCT and found defusion beats reappraisal on symbolic avoidance. The think-piece now tells clinicians how to describe that procedure in technical RFT language.
Dixon et al. (2025) push further, warning that once you let RFT/ACT in, you must re-check old direct-contingency findings. The 2023 paper is the quiet first step; 2025 is the loud next step.
Harte et al. (2024) extend their own idea by adding ‘field-based’ lens to RFT. Think of 2023 as the bridge blueprint and 2024 as the traffic plan for the whole highway.
Why it matters
You can now write in session notes: ‘Used defusion to weaken the transformation of avoidance functions through the relational network “failure → shame → hit”’. Supervisors understand, insurance sees ABA language, and the treatment keeps its ACT power. Try it Monday: pick one client rule (“I’m stupid”) and script one defusion line that names the relational frame you are targeting.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Relational frame theory (RFT) has historically been considered the basic explanatory science behind acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). However, some have argued that there has been an increasing separation between the two in recent years. The primary aim of the current article is to explore the extent to which RFT concepts, particularly those that have been proposed recently in the context of “up-dating” the theory, may be used to build stronger links between basic and applied behavior analyses in which there is a shared language of relatively precise technical terms. As an example of this strategy, we outline RFT process-based experimental and conceptual analyses of the impact of one of the most widely used sets of interventions employed in the ACT literature, defusion. In addition, we suggest a potential experimental methodology for analyzing the basic behavioral processes involved. Overall, the current article should be seen as part of a broader research agenda that aims to explore how RFT may be used to provide a functional-analytic abstractive treatment of the behavioral processes involved in human psychological suffering.
Perspectives on Behavior Science, 2023 · doi:10.1007/s40614-022-00363-w