Acceptance and commitment therapy: Applications for educational psychologists within schools
Open accessAbstract
Guidance for schools regarding the promotion and enhancement of psychological wellbeing represents an invitation to intervene to promote effective, evidence-informed, whole-school approaches for school staff, students and parents. With its transdiagnostic approach and evidence from empirical literature, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is asserted as a coherent psychological model that has potential to support schools in developing effective and sustainable practices to promote psychological wellbeing. Three ways of applying ACT within educational contexts are discussed, demonstrating potential utility of the model: supporting school staff wellbeing; targeted interventions for children and young people; and a potential universal application, through the development of an ACT-based emotional health and wellbeing curriculum.
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Gillard et al. (2018) have identified ACT as a coherent model that has the potential to support schools in promoting wellbeing in children due to its clear health benefits.
“Gillard et al. (2018) have identified ACT as a coherent model that has the potential to support schools in promoting wellbeing in children due to its clear health benefits.”
From Acceptance and commitment therapy interventions in secondary schools and their impact on students' mental health and well-being: A systematic review (2022) · cites this paper as Gillard et al., 2018
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- Authors
- Gillard, D., Flaxman, P., & Hooper, N.
- Affiliations
- Educational Psychology Service, Trading with Schools (City Hall) , Bristol, UK
- City, University of London (GB)
- University of the West of England (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Gillard, Duncan
- Venue
- Educational Psychology in Practice
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2018-03-21
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 272-281
- ISSN
- 0266-7363 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-5839
- OpenAlex
- W2790262279
- Cited by
- 32
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 2.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- eprints.uwe.ac.uk
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Educational Psychology in Practice (publishedVersion)
- City Research Online (City University London) (acceptedVersion)
- UWE Research Repository (UWE Bristol) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Speech and Hearing › School Health and Nursing Education
- Keywords
- acceptance and commitment therapy, psychological well-being, school-based intervention, educational psychologists, school staff well-being, children and young people, transdiagnostic approach, whole-school approach
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