Table 1.

Practical Challenges Addressed from ACTraining Compared to Psychotherapy Perspectives

Trainee Presentation	ABA Practitioner	Psychotherapy Practitioner
A parent of a child with autism who is being trained to manage the child’s behavior reports being depressed.	Refer the parent to a clinical psychologist. If the parent is still willing to participate in training, then consider including ACT components in behavioral skills training to help the parent engage in overt behaviors while having negative feelings. Assess the effectiveness by measuring changes in overt parent implementation of behavior management procedures.	Treat core symptoms of depression. Measure effectiveness by assessing depressive symptomology.
A BCBA is supervising a staff member, and the staff member reports that distress over her marital strife is getting in the way of her doing her job.	Refer the staff member to a psychologist for couples therapy. Consider implementing ACT components into behavioral supervision to train the staff member in self-management strategies for still engaging in excellent overt performance while feeling distress.	Deliver couples therapy with the goal of decreasing marital discord.
A BCBA is engaging an adolescent with autism in social skills training, and the adolescent reports that he feels like a loser because he has no friends.	Consider referring the adolescent to a clinical psychologist for assessment for potential depression if the reports continue. In the context of social skills training, adapt ACT components to help the adolescent learn new and variable rules about himself in the context of social relations.	If the adolescent’s negative affect rises to the level of depression, treat the adolescent for depression with psychotherapy.