RFT Group Protocol Focused on Altering Repetitive Negative Thinking
Concetta Messina, Carmen Luciano, Giovambattista Presti
Worry is a form of negative and repetitive thinking and as a psychological process it is transdiagnostic to the maintenance of various mental disorders (APA, 2013). Following preliminary research, this exploratory study investigated the effects of a short protocol based on relational frame theory (RFT), which was focused on interrupting repetitive negative thinking (RNT) to reduce emotional symptoms and promote increased psychological flexibility. In this exploratory study, which was a foundation for a larger randomised controlled clinical trial, the protocol was implemented in a group format, in contrast to previous studies in which it was administered on an individual basis. Three subjects (M = 2; F = 1), on average aged 24 years, participated in the study on a voluntary basis. To assess their mental health, all participants completed a battery of questionnaires consisting of: SCL-90, MPFI, VAS, MAAS and I-CFQ at baseline, at the end of treatment and after 1 and 3 months of follow-up. All subjects showed significant levels of change, both in reduction of emotional symptoms and increase of psychological flexibility, at the end of the intervention. However, only one out of three maintained these results at follow-up, while in the other two there was a trend back to baseline levels, although not complete and not in all scales and subscales. Data show similar trends to those obtained from other ACT protocols focused on RNT interruption (Ruiz et al., 2019) for both primary outcome measures (SCL-90, MPFI global scales and VAS) and secondary outcome measures (MPFI, MAAS and I-CFQ subscales scores). The overall effects found in the present study are consistent with the research hypothesis and show that short protocols of only three meetings based on RFT could be effective in promoting rumination cessation and simultaneously promote psychological flexibility, within a group context as well. More extensive studies are desirable.
Keywords
Self, Hierarchical framing, RFT/ACT Group Protocol, RNT.
