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  • Essay / Importance of the Concept of Acceptance in Therapeutic Services

    The role of acceptance becomes relevant in cognitive behavioral therapy models when highly desired change is difficult, impossible, or at least not imminent. Acceptance and mindfulness interventions offer alternative ways to reduce suffering and help clients move out of “stuck” situations when change is not immediately available. This article examines the similarities and differences that the concept of acceptance plays in the therapeutic models of Ellis, Hayes, and Linehan. However, before we can begin to discuss the role of acceptance in Albert Ellis' Rational Emotional Behavior Therapy (REBT), Steven Hayes' Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) ) by Marsha Linehan, I believe it is essential to first consider the Eastern and Western mythologies that continue to inspire the philosophy and culture of society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay From the East, in Buddha's final years, he held a flowery sermon near a pond. His disciples gathered around him in silence as he held up a freshly plucked lotus flower – roots and all, dripping with mud. All of them, except one of his disciples, were unsure of the meaning of Buddha's message, which made them smile. Buddha recognized that his disciple, Mahakasyapa, understood that flowers not only symbolized the hope for peace and beauty arising from suffering (e.g., mud and mud), but that they embody both the form and informs him. Buddha used the lotus flower as a wonderful reminder that while all forms (e.g., behaviors, emotions, thoughts, people, material possessions) can be enjoyed, they are fleeting. Moving west, we find a handsome young man who was also sitting next to him. a pool of water admiring its own reflection. As punishment from the gods for being cruel to those who love him, he finds himself trapped for eternity in his desire for himself. Eventually, Narcissus dies and turns into a small flower that bears his name, Narcissus, commonly known as a daffodil. Some translations of the story suggest that this flower was born from the place where Narcissus died, so according to the reincarnation view, he was transformed into a flower or their presence was just a mere coincidence. However, as we reflect on this lesson and this curious reward from the gods for such self-control, one begins to wonder if Narcissus ultimately saw through his image to the depths beneath his reflection, allowing him to abandon its image and become something delicate. and beautiful. If so, I suppose the lesson from the gods is that we should not hold ourselves captive to an image (e.g., reflection of ourselves) or difficult states (e.g., represented by the pond of water) in order to truly accept ourselves and navigate the world around us. After examining the lessons of the mythological stories, it becomes apparent that REBT, ACT, and DBT combine elements of Eastern and Western philosophy with more traditional elements of Western psychotherapy to help their clients. In Linehan's DBT, Eastern and Western philosophy are evident since the goal of mindfulness exercises is to accept what is and develop coping strategies for the world as we find it, not to attempt to change our image of the world. Linehan (1993a) suggests that practicesMindfulness can also be helpful for people who are afraid of their own emotions. However, it is unclear to what extent Eastern philosophy has had an effect on the concept of acceptance in the therapeutic models developed by Ellis and Hayes, beyond the Buddhist philosophy of acceptance. It seems that the real differences lie in the Western philosophy to which the theorist subscribes. For example, Ellis appreciated Popper's idea that the human mind, both that of the clinician and the patient, naturally hypothesized, resulting in REBT interventions focused on confirming or rejecting hypotheses with empirical data. This paves the way for accepting things as they are and using logic to evaluate irrational beliefs to facilitate change. Hayes also includes the concept of acceptance; however, it is used differently.Hayes found the work of Stephen Pepper influential because he based ACT on the pragmatic philosophy of functional contextualism. This position emphasizes that the only evidence needed to determine a meaningful conclusion, acceptance, is practicality or whether an idea works to help the individual achieve their goals. It becomes evident that acceptance in ACT primarily focuses on accepting internal stimuli of thoughts and emotions. It is unclear whether Hayes also includes acceptance of the external reality of the world or the behavior of others in his definition of acceptance. Hayes's therapeutic position is based on a conscious posture of openness and acceptance toward psychological events, even if they are formally negative, irrational, or psychotic. We are left with the idea that truth is relative and that if something works for the individual, then it is true for that person. In addition to raising ethical and moral concerns, it does not validate that a person may have negative experiences and emotions that may contribute to their presenting problems. By understanding the fertile ground and contextual behavioral roots for which ACT emerged, one can see that Hayes promotes the pursuit of its values ​​in order to achieve a meaningful life through an emphasis on behaviors. ACT focuses on changing overt behaviors and their relationship to cognitions and emotions, rather than changing the cognitions or emotions themselves. Through ACT, Hayes teaches his patients to stop trying to change their specific cognitions and emotions, accept these negative internal experiences and at the same time learn to adopt behaviors that will help them achieve their goals and values ​​despite the desire to escape uncomfortable experiences. . It is his attempt to teach patients that they can have negative thoughts and emotions and still behave effectively. This position also highlights the influence of behaviorism, in that people's history of exposure to stimuli and reinforcers creates who we are. DBT takes a different approach when it comes to cognitions. Linehan's approach does not rely on cognitive interventions to help clients regulate their emotions, but instead teaches them self-soothing techniques. These techniques offer a comforting, nurturing, kind and gentle way to soothe their strong negative disturbed emotions. Although this approach is not unique to DBT, it is an important part of helping patients take the steps toward change even when they are overwhelmed by their emotions. In other words, acceptance is seen as both a resultand activity in DBT, which differentiates it from REBT and ACT. As in the name of the therapy, the main dialectic of DBT is between acceptance and change. Linehan believes that to facilitate change, a client must be aware of and able to tolerate the pain associated with the problem. It is also important to note that ACT is also based on Relational Frame Theory (RFT), which considers language processes and its dominance over direct experience that promote much of human suffering (Hayes and Wilson, 2003). Hayes distinguishes between acceptance and tolerance, to mean "the active, non-judgmental embrace of experience in the here and now: where acceptance involves unguarded 'exposure' to thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations as they are directly experienced” (Hayes, 2004, p. 21). This laid the foundation for the main goal of ACT, which is to create psychological flexibility. This is accomplished not only through the development of the skills of acceptance and mindfulness, where deliberate and non-judgmental engagement with the client's experience in the present moment, but also through engagement skills and behavior change (Dobson,2010). Considering the role that language plays in the well-being of human beings, I thought about how the British novelist Zadie Smith viewed emotions such as shame, pride and rage and how they affect the way people people perceive and navigate the world. One thing I found profound was that Smith made very similar points to Ellis' position on the importance of emotion. Smith believes that emotions should be considered real even if they seem unknown or foreign to the person. Smith also includes Linehan's view that validation is essential to effective communication in order to move toward understanding and change. She also supports Ellis's position of replacing dysfunctional and maladaptive emotions with more adaptive ones. Because it's more effective than feeling no emotion at all, where the more adaptive emotion allows people to "function practically." For example, Smith believes that shame is a productive emotion that can serve as a catalyst for change, because being shameless is considered dangerous. Smith also supports Hayes' position that language limits a person's ability to accept adversity because of the tendency to turn statements into rules. Smith used the example of Black Lives Matter and how it is having a major impact on conservatives in this country because it sparks intense rage because the arrangement of the words suggests that it excludes them indefinitely, instead of considering the words without judgment and as expressions. of experience. This suggests that the different conceptions in which acceptance is included in a therapeutic model all apply to life in a way that is effective for the healing process. The similarities that exist between treatment models are most evident when one can put linguistics aside and understand their purpose and role in treatment. In REBT, Ellis teaches his patients to cultivate three types of unconditional acceptance, namely acceptance of self, others, and life. Linehan's uses the term "Radical Acceptance" to refer to the same types of acceptance mentioned by Ellis. REBT and DBT help patients learn to replace their rigid, maladaptive thoughts with more adaptive ones, thereby actively working toward change while accepting themselves and their situation as it is. For example, REBT emphasizes thatclients accept both the external world and the internal world, while DBT focuses more on accepting their internal experiences. However, Linehan's therapeutic stance of validating clients' reality is a form of acceptance of the outside world. Therefore, their view of accepting external and internal stimuli is the same. The emphasis on what Ellis calls secondary disturbances and tolerance of discomfort is similar to Linehan's emphasis on acceptance and tolerance of internal experiences such as dysregulated emotions. As REBT and DBT, patients learn that feeling and recognizing the discomfort associated with both experiencing adversity and learning to cope with it are necessary for change and growth to occur. The literature on inclusion and the effectiveness of acceptance in CBT is positive. For example, Porada and Milburn conducted an empirical investigation of the relationships between irrationality, self-acceptance, and dispositional forgiveness. They found that unconditional self-acceptance was significantly positively correlated with dispositional forgiveness. Using regression analysis, they were able to indicate that the irrationality and self-acceptance subtypes predicted dispositional forgiveness toward self, toward others, and toward situations. Given that there were no significant gender differences, it appears that having irrational beliefs hinders the forgiveness process, and one's level of self-acceptance predicts one's willingness to forgive. This supports the idea that the inability to accept problems, experiences, situations, etc. prohibits change (Dobson, 2010). This is seen in the therapeutic model developed by Ellis and Linehan due to the inclusion of unconditional and radical acceptance. Given that ACT emphasizes acceptance of internal stimuli, it was impressive to see that a study by Karol Wild compared the role of acceptance in REBT and ACT. She found that the results in terms of acceptance and emotional level were similar in the two conditions. Wild noted that how the theorist conceptualizes acceptance and how it relates to cognitive processing are the main differences between therapeutic models. Differences in Western philosophy and academic affiliations may have been a contributing factor to Wild's observations. Ellis had extensive clinical experience that impacted the development of his theory compared to Linehan and Hayes, for whom they conducted randomized clinical trials of the therapy they were developing. How treatment models emerged is irrelevant to the research evidence. For example, one study evaluated the effectiveness of a DBT skills module, Walking the Middle Path, for adolescents and their families. This mindfulness-based activity as well as the use of validation was perceived as the most useful among the DBT therapeutic model. When therapeutic models are able to produce positive results when replicated by other therapists with different populations and engagement styles, this reassures the consumer, both clinician and client, of the effectiveness of the model. This is an important consideration when selecting templates to use with clients. This is an essential and ethical consideration that clinicians must keep in mind. So critical that Donald Meichenbaum created a checklist with 19 warning signs suggesting that the effectiveness and efficiency of an intervention was significantly exaggerated. Even if..