building towers in babel: spreading and sharing knowledge, translating manuals and self-help books...

Building Towers in Babel: Building Towers in Babel: Spreading and sharing knowledge, Spreading and sharing knowledge, translating manuals and self-help translating manuals and self-help

booksbooks

M. Villatte, JL Monestès, & G. PrestiM. Villatte, JL Monestès, & G. Presti

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ACT-RFT in English speaking countriesACT-RFT in English speaking countries

ACBS web site

ACT Therapists = 546

Training = 27 ACT trainers; workshops in US, UK, Australia, NZ.

Books = over 30 in English (general, specific populations, self-help)

Papers = over 700 in English (directly on or related to ACT-RFT)

ACT-RFT labs = 252/27

What about non-English speaking What about non-English speaking countries?countries?

o Therapists: 145 (21% of the ACT therapists)Therapists: 145 (21% of the ACT therapists)

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Europe = 131 Asia = 6 America = 8

ACT therapists

14

1 1

13

36

10 10

1

17

41 1

2023

6

1 1 2 1 1 1 24

1

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ACT Trainers

1

2

4

Germany Spain Sweden

What about non-English speaking countries?What about non-English speaking countries?

o Trainers: 7 (20.6% of the ACT trainers)Trainers: 7 (20.6% of the ACT trainers)

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o WorkshopsWorkshops

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

2006 2007 2008 2009

Nu

mb

er o

f W

S

Belgium

Brazil

Denmark

France

Germany

Italy

Luxemburg

Norway

Netherlands

Québec

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

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o Workshops (all non-English regrouped)Workshops (all non-English regrouped)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2006 2007 2008 2009

Nu

mb

er o

f W

S

7/27


o Books: 29Books: 29

ACT books

2

1

2

1 1

5

1

4

1 1

3

1

2 2

1 1

Danish

Dutch

Finnish

Frenc

h

Germ

an

Italia

n

Japa

nese

Korean

Spanis

h

Swedish

Original

Translation

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o Cumulative book publications (all non-English regrouped)Cumulative book publications (all non-English regrouped)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Nu

mb

er o

f b

oo

ks p

ub

lish

ed

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ACT-RFT Papers and chapters

14 4 4

1

45

Brazil orPortuguese

France orFrench

Germany orGerman

Netherlands orDutch

Norway orNorwegian

Spain orSpanish


o Papers: 56Papers: 56

FranceFrance Cultural and scientific contextCultural and scientific context A long history of psycho-analysisA long history of psycho-analysis

The large majority of therapists are psycho-analysts. The large majority of clinical researchers are psycho-

analysts. Which means: reluctance to evidence based therapies

(CBT & ABA) and evaluation in general.

A kind of reluctance to everything that comes from A kind of reluctance to everything that comes from anglo-saxon countries (especially from usa)anglo-saxon countries (especially from usa)

Viewed as too pragmatic, reductionistic and as not humanistic.

Viewed as a threat to psycho-analysis.

The example of France and ItalyThe example of France and Italy

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FranceFrance Cultural and scientific contextCultural and scientific context

Poor competencies in EnglishPoor competencies in English English books not available in bookstores English books not translated to French are read

by a (very) small minority of therapists Therapists rarely attend to workshops and

lectures in English

Conclusion: If it’s not in French it Conclusion: If it’s not in French it doesn’t exist!doesn’t exist!


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FranceFrance So how did ACT-RFT make it in France?So how did ACT-RFT make it in France?

From behavior analysis:From behavior analysis: Interest of some researchers for a behavior

analytic account of language and cognition (e.g. An account of Theory of Mind in terms of deictic relational responding)

Interest of some clinicians for a behavior analytic approach to psychotherapy (alternative to CBT based on cognitivism)

From CBT:From CBT: Interest of clinicians trained in MBCT/MBSR


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Some issues encountered when spreading ACT-RFT Some issues encountered when spreading ACT-RFT in Francein France

ACT doesn’t change the symptom? ACT is not as scientific as CBT?• 2004: Polemic around a report by the health national

institute (INSERM) aiming at evaluating the efficacy of different kinds of psychotherapy. CBT was shown to be efficient whereas psycho-analysis was not.

• At the time when the community of french therapists starts to understand the utility of adopting a scientific approach to help clients, ACT (often presented as « not changing symptoms », « experiential », etc.) might be viewed as a backward step.


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ACT doesn’t change the symptom? ACT is not as scientific as CBT?• Our approach to address this issue:

ACT changes symptoms. But in ACT, symptoms are not emotions, thoughts and sensations. They are the loss of psychological flexibility and the inadequacy between values and actions.

Translation and validation of the AAQII to assess efficiency of therapy.

In workshops: always explaining the function of experiential exercices, how it can be used in clinical settings and how it is supported by theory and scientific data.

Spreading RFT as well as ACT.


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Some issues encountered when spreading ACT-Some issues encountered when spreading ACT-RFT in FranceRFT in France

RFT is too behaviorist for cognitivists and too cognitivist for behaviorists?• So far, the large majority of french behaviorists

have ignored or rejected RFT: Too similar to cognitivism, not skinnerian enough.

• Most french cognitivists ignore or reject behavior analysis in general. So if RFT is behavior analysis, it must be all about « conditioning » and probably not worthy.


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RFT is too behaviorist for cognitivists and too cognitivist for behaviorists?• Our approach to address this issue:

Spreading RFT through ACT workshops (in which most participants are not behavior analysts)

Publishing in behaviorist and in cognitivist journals Talking in behaviorist and in cognitivist congresses Translating the RFT book (be prepared to hear

from French that it was them who actually discovered RFT!)


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And now?And now? 12 Workshops conducted in 2 years (all across the

country) ACT courses (3-6 hours) in at least 6 different

professional formations One RFT course in University (Lille) 2 original books (general purpose, self-help book), 1

original clinician guide coming, several translations coming (The Happiness trap -Québec-, the RFT book, GOOYMAIYL?)

A web magazine in French (www.LemagazineACT.fr) An ACBS Chapter coming (France or French

speaking)


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Italy: the cultural clinical environment Predominantly psychodinamic (both

in clinical psychology and in psychiatry)

CBT credited but not the mainstream

A good tradition in Behavior Analysis and Modification but… lost in the 90’s

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ACTivation

IESCUM was established as the Italian chapter of ABAI and EABA in 2003 to avoid losing a longstanding tradition of BA in Italy

IESCUM supported the constitution of the association ACT-Italia, to foster basic and clinical research in the area

The trojan horse to mainstream is the deep empathic root of ACT (workshops are changing the waymany clinics are looking at ACT and BA)

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ACTivities ACT Italian chapter

Members: 20 President: Giovanni Miselli

Research groups IULM University Milan Department of Psychiatry, Neurobiology, Pharmacology

and Biotechnologies

In joint collaboration IESCUM (the Italian chapter of ABAI and EABA) and ASCCO (a behavioral oriented association which coordinates 6 Italian post-doc

clinical schools) organizes: Workshops Classes on ACT and RFT in various Italian post-doc clinical

schools (in the past year: Milan, Parma, Rome, Pescara, Turin, Rimini, Padua)

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Research

IULM, Milan Translation and validation of main scales (AAQII, VLQ,

BIAAQ…) Pilot research projects on

Families of children with autism ABA consultants with families of children with autism Training of employers in public and private

companies Obesity and eating disorders Smoke Pain Clinic with adults Adolescents (prevention)

RFT in programmes for autistic children 21/27

Research

University of Pisa, Department of Psychiatry, Neurobiology, Pharmacology and Biotechnologies Experiential avoidance

Oncologic patientsAnxiety sensitivity and alexithymiaPsychological distressSocial fearCoping strategies

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Publication

ACT-Italia is working on An original manual on ACT (to be

published in autumn) A translation of Get Out

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Functional translation of “Get Out”Every translation (novel, manual,

etc.) has two function A “face value” (Crel)

A “talk-to-change” value (Cfunc)

A pyramidal group of work

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Functional translation of “Get Out”: The people

Independently working

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Functional translation of “Get Out”: The process

Chapters to translatorsChapters to translators

Formal revisionFormal revision

Functional revisionFunctional revision

Language amendmentsLanguage amendments

Final revisionFinal revision

PublishingPublishing Field testing?????Field testing?????

DictionaryGlossary of behavioral

terms

DictionaryGlossary of behavioral

terms

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Some kind of awkward problems in functional translation and speakingHow am I going to address the

reader/client? tu/egli??? (respectful you vs he) Impersonal vs personal

Translation in workshops

Functional translation with invited speakers

Avoiding the language trap (hear the translator/escape the process)

How it worked to functionally translate “in the present moment

Proposals?????

Kind of international coordination that …????

Studies on language differences? Basic Clinical

Kind of developing common methodologies to address common problems…?

Building Towers in Babel: Building Towers in Babel: Spreading and sharing knowledge, Spreading and sharing knowledge, translating manuals and self-help translating manuals and self-help

booksbooks

M. Villatte, JL Monestès, & G. PrestiM. Villatte, JL Monestès, & G. Presti

27/27

building towers in babel: spreading and sharing knowledge, translating manuals and self-help books...

Documents

actrft actrft labs

nonenglish speaking

act therapists327europe

act trainers workshops

english general

selfhelp papers

selfhelp booksm

specific populations