A crucial step in assessing the scientific basis of a psychotherapeutic intervention is examining the individual components of the treatment to determine if they are additive or important to treatment outcomes. The construct of self-as-context (S-A-C), a central process in the acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) approach, has not yet been studied in a component analysis. A previous dismantling trial, however, has shown this process has an additive effect as part of an ACT package (Williams, 2006). The current study is a preliminary trial of feasibility and efficacy to determine a) the practicality of assessing S-A-C in isolation in a laboratory setting, and b) the impact of manipulating S-A-C on theoretically related variables, including theorized mechanisms of change in various clinical approaches. 68 participants (55 female, 13 male) were randomly assigned to receive either a brief S-A-C intervention employing a common therapeutic metaphor (the chessboard metaphor), or the control condition, which involved discussing a mildly positive topic with the researcher. Results from the main analyses showed that there was no group-by-time interaction on measures to assess immediate impact on the construct, previously validated therapeutic mediation measures, or symptom measures. Several possible explanations for the failure to identify significant findings are discussed, including limitations of construct measurement. When analyses were repeated using only those participants whose scores were in the mild range or higher for stress, anxiety, or depression, time by condition interactions were significant for stress and approached significance for depression, with participants in the S-A-C group doing better than those in the control group, offering tentative support for the utility of this process among individuals with clinical difficulties. Implications for future studies are reported. / Ph. D.

MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Ruth Anne Rehfeldt The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a defusion exercise in combination with perspective- taking interactions as a brief protocol based on the Relational Frame Theory (RFT). The protocol was designed to alter verbal statements about the self through the implementation of training on deictic frames (I-YOU, HERE-THERE, AND NOW-THEN) in conjunction with an exercise of defusion. A pre-post design with a control group was implemented to evaluate the effects of the protocol on the frequency rate of self-as-context and self-as-content statements. Adolescents with disabilities were selected and assigned to each group based on the frequency rate of self-as-content statements. After the assignment of the participants to each group, each participant was interviewed individually through a structured interview aimed at identifying deictic frames and negative statements. Then, participants in the treatment group received the protocol of defusion and deictic frames individually, and participants in the control group received a social skills session on an individual basis. Finally, participants were interviewed individually through an interview based on the identification of deictic relationships and negative statements about the self. Results showed a significant effect in reducing the number of self-as-content statements and increasing the number of self-as-context statements for participants in the treatment group; however, changes did not reach the statistical significance when comparing the post-tests scores between the treatment and control group. Limitations of this study are discussed and future research is recommended.

While current research indicates that traumas high in social betrayal are more closely associated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress and identity disturbances than are traumas low in betrayal, the psychological mechanisms by which identity problems occur are less understood. The current project explored the relationships between traumas high and low in betrayal and their influence on self-complexity, through the RFT and ACT conceptualization of three types of self-experiencing: self-as-content, self-as-process, and self-as-context. The roles of experiential avoidance, dissociation, and severity of PTSD symptoms were also considered within this framework. A sample of 548 undergraduate students at the University of North Texas completed online self-report questionnaires, and results suggested that self-as-context more strongly predicted PTSD symptoms than trauma exposure, dissociation, and experiential avoidance. Moreover, high betrayal trauma was found to be a stronger negative predictor of self-as-context than low betrayal trauma. Exposure to trauma was found to significantly predict self-complexity, and self-as-context more strongly predicted self-complexity than did self-as-process. Interestingly, self-as-context did not moderate the relationship between trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms, nor between trauma exposure and self-complexity. Implications of the current study’s findings, as well as suggestions for further research related to the impact of interpersonal betrayal on the self and psychological health, are discussed.