Citation

Smith BP, Coe E, Meyer EC. Clin. Case Stud. 2021; 20(1): 75-91.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1534650120963183

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Symptoms of depression, posttraumatic stress, and substance use disorders commonly co-occur and are a tremendous health burden among the U.S. military veteran population. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based, transdiagnostic, integrated approach that has been used to treat these problems. Delivering psychotherapy via telehealth helps to break down barriers to care. This case study describes the application of ACT via telehealth with a male veteran with co-occurring symptoms of depression, PTSD and nicotine addiction. His depressive symptoms, PTSD symptoms, and nicotine use decreased substantially over the course of therapy. He demonstrated increased willingness to experience negatively evaluated internal experiences such as emotions and urges to use nicotine, defusion from self-critical and other unhelpful thoughts, more consistent engagement in values-consistent behaviors, and increased behavioral engagement in his social life. Treatment implications and unique aspects of the telehealth modality are discussed. Recommendations are made for training clinicians who may be considering providing services via telehealth or using ACT. © The Author(s) 2020.

Language: en

Keywords

human; cognition; suicide; male; PTSD; case report; depression; anxiety; major depression; veteran; Veterans; telehealth; posttraumatic stress disorder; emotional disorder; awareness; mental disease; questionnaire; health care delivery; behavior; clinical article; follow up; smoking cessation; tobacco dependence; Article; videoconferencing; acceptance and commitment therapy; DSM-5; Patient Health Questionnaire 9; Likert scale; coronavirus disease 2019; Kessler Psychological Distress Scale 6; World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument