Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Versus Education On Stigma Toward People With Psychological Disorders, Akihiko Masuda, S. C. Hayes, Lindsay B. Fletcher, P. J. Seignourel, K. Bunting, S. A. Herbst, M. P. Twohig, J. Lillis

Psychology Faculty Publications

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has previously been shown to alter stigmatizing attitudes and to be relatively useful for psychologically inflexible participants. The present study is the first to bring those two findings together by comparing ACT to an education intervention for reducing stigma toward people with psychological disorders, and examining whether results differ for psychologically inflexible versus flexible individuals. A sample of college students (N = 95) was randomly assigned to a 2 ½ hour ACT or educational workshop. Measures were taken before and after the workshop and at a one-month follow-up. ACT reduced mental health stigma significantly regardless …