Areas of Interest: My research interests focus broadly acceptance and mindfulness-based approaches in relation to psychological health and the alleviation of human suffering. More focally, we are interested in advancing the science and practice of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (or ACT, said as one word) to make a difference in the lives of those who are suffering. Within an ACT approach, we study experiential avoidance, nonacceptance, acceptance, mindfulness, cognitive defusion/fusion, self-compassion, and values and how these processes inform our understanding of the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of fear and anxiety-related disorders. We study anxious suffering not as an end in itself, but as a way to understand and alleviate human suffering. This work is set within a translational research context, wherein we seek to integrate philosophical/theoretical levels of analysis with experimental psychopathology and applied psychopathology research domains. Specific areas of interest follow.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Mindfulness and Self-Compassion
- Etiology, Maintenance, & Treatment of Anxiety Disorders
- Emotion Regulation and Dysregulation (e.g., experiential avoidance)
- Using Experimental Psychopathology to Understand Forms of Anxious Suffering
- Self-Help, Internet-Based, Tele-Health Interventions
- Fear Conditioning and Verbal "Cognitive" Relational Processes
- Contextual Behavioral Science (see ACBS).
- Theoretical and Philosophical Issues in Behavior Analysis and Therapy