Circumstances to integrate acceptance and commitment therapy with short-term psychodynamic psychotherapies

How therapists integrate short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (STPP) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is not well understood. This study focused on the circumstances used to guide the integration of ACT and STPP as a therapeutic strategy from therapists’ perspectives and experiences. Thirteen participants from the United States, Australia, and Canada who integrate ACT and STPP as a therapeutic strategy were interviewed by video call or video conference. Grounded theory method was utilized to collect and analyze qualitative data generated from the interviews. Findings and conclusions: To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to use grounded theory methodology to describe the circumstances to integrate ACT and STPP. Seven response markers were identified to consider ACT and STPP integration with matched patient characteristics in the context of the patient’s current functioning and the therapeutic alliance. The theoretical framework used for this study was Gold and Stricker and Stricker and Gold’s three-tiered model of assimilative integration. The framework offered the possibility of relieving symptom distress and building new intra-psychic representations and effective interpersonal skills. The results indicated that while the seven response markers can serve as useful guidelines for implementation of STPP and ACT integration, the therapist’s intuition is and may always be a determining factor in the decision to integrate these two modalities. The combination of ACT and STPP provides an opportunity to improve methodologies, strategies, and treatment outcomes.