Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
ACT FAQ
RFT FAQ
Contextualism FAQ
Fellow Travelers FAQ
Glossary
Fair Use Notice
Privacy Policy
Site Statistics
Terms and Conditions of Use
Click on a question below to view its answer!
ACBS Members: To suggest a question for someone to answer, click on the "add new comment" link at the bottom of this page and enter your question. To provide a question and an answer to this FAQ, click on the "add child page" link at the bottom of this page.
Some pages on this site will refer to attached or downloadable files. If you are not a paid member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS), you will not be able to view or download these files. To gain access to such files (including the full-text downloads of many of the publications listed in the Publications section of the site), after you're logged in, you must apply for paid ACBS membership (which can now cost you as little as $1, with values-based dues). After you have completed the membership application form and paid your membership dues, you should be able to access all of the downloadable files on the site.
Occasionally a member has problems opening the PDFs. In this day and age we all have different versions of different software, but here are a few things to try.
It's easy to allow visitors to the site to email you (and without revealing your email address, which protects you from spammers):
Now when site visitors view your profile, they will see a "Contact" tab that allows them to send you an email via a web-based form. Check out the webmaster's profile for an example of this.
To change your profile/password/contact/account information, simply do this:
The example below illustrates how to change your password, with the buttons circled in red. (Login, my account, edit, enter password, confirm password, submit)

Individuals with basic site membership can contribute to the discussion forums by following the appropriate links in that section of the site.
Only members of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science can upload new content to the site:
And that's it! Additional prompts and instructions are provided on most of the content creation pages. Don't worry too much about messing anything up -- the site editors can also go back and correct any mistakes you made. Also, you will be able to edit any content you create any time you wish! Just return to the page and click on the "Edit" tab at the top.
If you have questions about contributing content to the site, please do not hesitate to contact the ContextualPsychology.org webmaster.
There is one known bug on this website. After accessing the "Join or Donate" link (where you go to process your credit card and purchase membership), the SSL Security Info popup continues to appear when you navigate away from the page.
If this is happening to you, simply close your browser and reopen it and the popup will not appear again (unless you click "Join or Donate" again).
Thank you for your understanding, and we'll correct the issue as soon as a fix is available.
if you have uploaded a picture of yourself to your account page it will automatically be included in replies or comments. It will NOT be displayed in the preview but will be displayed once you have submitted the comment or reply.
If you are an ACT therapist and want to be listed on the site as such, please apply for professional ACBS membership, after you've logged in to your account. If you don't have a free account yet, you can get one here.
Only current ACBS members can be listed in the ACT Therapist directory. To do this, log in to your paid account, click on "my account" at the upper right of your screen, then "edit", then "ACT", then click the "ACT Therapist" checkbox and make sure that you've supplied information about your practice and ACT experience. Then just click "submit" at the bottom of the page.
To purchase or renew membership, login, then click on the "Join, Renew, or Donate" link on the top of the page (at the very top, in the blue header). If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to do so. If you do not already have a login you can create one for free here.
After you've logged in and clicked "Join, Renew, or Donate" you will see the "Membership Signup and Renewal" page. Here is listed the different categories of paid membership: Professional, Student, and Affiliate. If you would like to know the benefits of membership, please check here.
We now feature Values-Based Dues so please consider the community and resources offered here when choosing the value of your membership (minimum $1). (Suggested Dues: Professional: $50, Student: $25)
Follow the prompts to purchase your membership.
You will see a Thank You page, telling you that your card was processed, and you will receive an email notification of the completion of the transaction.
Your benefits will begin immediately.
You will appear in the Membership Directory and have full access to the site.
If for some reason you have trouble with this, or need help, click on contact us to email for help.
Other Payment Options:
Please mail to:
ACBS
42398 Haltom Rd.
Hammond, LA 70403
USA
(775)544-0991
(225)302-8688 (fax)
You will receive an email notification when it is received and your membership is activated.
Un certain nombre d'entre vous ont fait l'expérience de voir leurs paiements rejetés depuis la France. Pour autant que nous puissions comprendre ce qui se passe, il s'agit d'un programme de sécurtié automatique des banques françaises qui bloquent comme étant suspecte toute transaction international considérée (par les banques, pas par l'ACBS) comme trop petite pour ne pas être suspecte. Nous savons que ça passe mal à $10, bien à $25 et nous ne savons pas e qui se passe avec des sommes intermédiaires./
Pour payer sans difficulté moins de $25, essayez paypal: créez un compte gratuit sur le site ACBS en vous inscrivant puis allez sur www.paypal.com/sendmoney
L'addresse pour envoyer votre paiement est : acbs@contextualpsychology.org
Le site vous invite ensuite à créer un compte Paypal, et vous demandera d'entrer vos détailsd e carte de crédit et, quand le paiement est complété, Emily à l'ACBS reçoit un email pour l'informer que le paiement est passé. Elle ira ensuite vous donner les privilèges d'accès.
We welcome translations of the pages on this site into languages other than English! Unfortunately, the process of translating pages is not yet automated. To provide a translation of a page, email the webmaster with the exact URL of the page you are translating, the language into which you are translating it, and the translation. I will add it to the site as soon as I can!
Note that if you are an ACBS member, you can also add new content to the site in a language other than English. When submitting the content, simply use the "Language:" drop-down box near the top of the submission screen to select a language other than English!
Here is a step-by-step guide for uploading new information to the website.
You must be logged in as a paid ACBS member to Add New Content, but if you have a non-paid user account you can post a comment to any page as well as in the Forums section of the site.
There are two main options for adding something to the site:
Option 1: Add New Content.
Option 2: Comment on Existing Content.
Option 1: Adding New Content
First, you’ll want to find the best place to add your content. We have gathered a list of the most common types of information added to the site, and their most appropriate locations. The instructions for each type of information may be different, so please check the list below for specific steps to adding content to these areas. You can also add new content from scratch (information on how to do so can be found here, although most members will find that their content most likely fits under an existing page and should search from the list below.
Here is an example of APA style for a scholarly article:
Smith, J. (2009). Experiential avoidance: A review of the research to date. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 4, 335-340.For a book chapter:
Smith, J. (2009). Experiential avoidance in context: Perspectives on the ACT model of psychopathology. In S. Smith & J. Smith (Eds.) (2009). Understanding the ACT model, 225 – 275. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.For a book:
Smith, J. (2009). Everything you ever wanted to know about ACT and were afraid to ask. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.To get those italics, you need to just put (without the quotation marks) "<em>" before, and "</em>" after the text you need italicized.

If you would like to add a measure, please go to Measures & Assessment.
See the General Tips for Adding Content section of this page to learn style tips and how to upload an attachment.
If you would like to add a clinical resource, there are two main places to do so. If you are positing a treatment manual or protocol (e.g., session by session guide to treatment) please add it as a child page under treatment protocols. If you have another clinical resource – such as a metaphor, an exercise, a visual aid, or a group of materials that does not constitute a treatment protocol, please add it to the Resources for Clinicians section of the site by going here.
See the General Tips for Adding Content section of this page to learn style tips and how to upload an attachment.
CREATING NEW CONTENT FROM SCRATCH
You may also add new content to any part of the site (e.g., not as a child page). You can just click on the "Create Content" link that appears on the right side of your screen (below your username). From there you can choose the type of content you want to create (general web pages are considered “Book Pages” and can be selected from the “Create Content” menu) and place it in the site hierarchy appropriately using the "Parent" drop-down menu.
However, we recommend that if you do so, you should link this page to something so that people can find your new content. Often linking your page to something else will require higher editing privileges than your account allows. If you need help with the best place to put your content or would like the web editor to link your page to something pre-existing (but for some reason a child page was not appropriate) please do not hesitate to email the Web Content Editor at jcplumb@gmail.com.
GENERAL TIPS FOR ADDING NEW CONTENT
Here are a few style tips you may wish to use to enliven your page or to make your publication citation more accurate (e.g., using italics).
Using hyperlinks in your webpage:
Typing:
will present "click here" as a link to http://www.contextualpsychology.org like this: click here
will present "http://www.contextualpsychology.org" as a link to http://www.contextualpsychology.org like this: http://www.contextualpsychology.org
Changing font style (e.g., bold, italics):
Uploading Attachments
Uploading Images
You may choose to upload images to the site in the form of .jpeg, .tif, .bmp, etc. To add an image to your child page, you must be either creating your child page (by clicking ADD CHLD PAGE) or editing it (by clicking EDIT). It must be a page that you created – the author shows up in the top left corner – as only site editors can add images or edit other people’s pages.


Editing Your Child Page
As the author of this child page, you may come back to this page and edit it at any time. When logged in, you will notice that when you are on a page you have created, the tabs VIEW and EDIT will appear at the top of the page, just under the title.
COMMENTING ON EXISTING CONTENT
If you would like to comment on existing content, simply click on the ADD NEW COMMENT link at the bottom of the page or click on the REPLY link next to an existing comment. Your comment or reply will then appear at the bottom of that page.
Occassionally we get reports that the menus appear strangely, are over-lapping, or menus appear in the wrong place (at the bottom of the page). This is usually a browser issue.
The latest version of Internet Explorer is the best browser to use to view this site.
Values-Based Dues simply means that you choose how much you want to pay for your membership dues.
If you think the website is a terrific resource and want the support the organization and website please give more.
If you're new, just curious, or a poor suffering student, give less.
If you've just signed up for very little, and then realize what a gem this community is, you can go back and give more to support it.
Suggested Dues (in US dollars):
Professional Members: $50
Student Members: $25
Affiliate Members (or general public): $25
Minimum Dues Payment: $1
Obviously, if everyone joins and only pays $1, our grand experiment will have failed and we'll have to go back to the standard method of dues collection. The current structure allows for new people to learn about ACT & RFT without a large financial burden.
Basic site membership is still free, but non-paying members don't have access to everything on the site.
This website runs on a content management system (CMS) called Drupal. Drupal is an open-source, free software application that automates many of the functions associated with maintaining and updating a community website. Like other CMS programs, Drupal allows users to focus on creating and maintaining content while it handles the details of page formatting, navigational links, menu systems, and other technical and administrative details of a website.
Drupal was developed in PHP, an open-source programming language developed specifically for web applications. It also utilizes an open-source relational database server called MySQL to efficiently store and retrieve content and website settings.
Essentially, this website was developed using entirely free, open-source web applications (although hosting the site on a web server, registering the domain name, etc. are not free). I encourage you to learn more about open-source solutions for your technology needs, such as the Firefox web browser (seriously -- it kicks Internet Explorer's ass!).
This website began as a fun side-project by Eric Fox (um, that's me but I figured I should write in the third person to make this all sound more official or something) in early 2005 when he decided it was time to update and combine the old RFT and ACT websites into a central site that was more dynamic and community-driven. Before he knew it, things had spiraled out of control and the new site kept getting bigger and more complex and an entire new professional association (ACBS) was formed that wrested control of the site from his greedy little hands. :)
This site is now officially owned and operated by the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS). The site's initial structure and policies were shaped by ACBS's planning committee. And, as we state on the home page, this website is dedicated to supporting the development of a progressive psychology and related behavioral sciences more adequate to the challenge of the human condition. Neat.
Welcome to the website of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science.
This section is under construction. If you feel you understand some of how this website and community works feel free to contribute!
The home page of the site describes the purpose of this organization.
Of course, as a new user, you can use this website as you would use any old website, as a way to obtain information. On the other hand, something potentially much more exciting and enlivening is also possible with this website. This website is also the developing nexus for an online community. If you look around the site and feel that you might be interested in joining, membership to the website is free and provides you the possibility of contributing to its content.
We hope that those who use this website develop a sense of themselves as an online community. This website is here to both support it members and be contributed to by its members. The website grows and changes as the membership of the community grows and changes.
As a community, we know that members participate at various levels. There are two primary things you can do as a member, 1) lurk and learn or 2) contribute. These are outlined in more detail below.
1) Lurk and Learn
Feel free to browse the site and experience all its wonders!
The "features" section to the left outline the main activities of the community.
At the top of the screen are the six major content areas that the site is divided into, corresponding to Contextualism, Basic Foundations, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Relational Frame Theory (RFT), other applications of these technologies, and a section on other third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapies (i.e., "fellow travelers").
2) Contribute
You can instantly join as a user of the website for free (see the right hand side bar). This gives you capability to post messages on the discussion forums and participate in discussions.
You can also register to become a member of ACBS (Association for Contextual Behavioral Science) on this website. Only with ACBS membership can you make full use of the interactivity that this site enables. With ACBS membership you can upload new content (child webpages), download files, rate and comment on existing content, maintain a personal blog, submit events to the calendar, and more. For example, this new user guide was created by me, Jason Luoma, as a member.
The benefit of being listed as an ACT therapist comes with professional membership in ACBS. Right now, suggested membership is only $50/year for most professionals (but $1 minimum now with values-based dues). You can learn more about membership through this link.
If you want more details about how to negotiate the process of adding and editing content, there is a short guide to the features of the site that you can read here and there is a more comprehensive guide written for ACBS members available here. Most of adding or editing content is done through the menu on the right side of the screen that says "create content." This link will appear whenever you are logged into the site.
Anyone (with a user account or paid membership, but no membership is required) can add content at the bottom of many pages. If you are reading a page and are interested in responding to the content in some way, you can click on the link at the bottom that says "add new comment." Members, if you are feeling ambitious enough to actually add more content (well, you don't really need to feel ambitious, just be ambitious) you can add a child page to many pages through clicking on "add child page" at the bottom of many pages.
Try it out, don't be afraid to make mistakes. If you think you might possibly have something to say, just say it. That's how we keep build and keep this community going! Others will respond and pretty soon there will be conversation going!
Also, for more general information on the website you can also see the FAQ section to the left.
Revisit the site often. The site will continue to grow with new articles and information, so check back frequently.