Our Editorial Method

1. Why an Editorial Method Is Necessary

Objective

Explain the problem before explaining the solution.

Key message

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy has produced an extensive scientific literature over several decades.

Books, clinical manuals, process research, experimental studies, randomized controlled trials, and methodological papers continue to expand the knowledge available to clinicians.

The challenge is not the lack of information.

The challenge is that scientific literature is written to advance research, while psychotherapy requires rapid, context-sensitive clinical decisions.

Our editorial work exists to reduce the distance between those two worlds.

We do not simplify ACT.

We organize scientific knowledge so it becomes easier to consult without altering its theoretical foundations.

Editorial Standards

Instead of talking about AI, explain the rules that every publication must satisfy.

Every editorial resource is evaluated according to five editorial principles:

Scientific traceability 

Every concept must be traceable to recognized scientific sources.

Conceptual consistency 

Editorial resources must remain consistent with the theoretical assumptions of Contextual Behavioral Science.

Process fidelity

Exercises, metaphors and examples must preserve the functional objectives of the ACT processes they represent.

Clinical usability 

Resources should reduce unnecessary cognitive effort while remaining clinically coherent.

Editorial clarity 

Scientific precision should never be sacrificed, but technical language should not become an obstacle to practical consultation.

Editorial Review Workflow

The editorial workflow describes how scientific knowledge is identified, organized, reviewed and transformed into clinically usable educational resources while preserving theoretical integrity.

Stage 1 — Scientific Literature Selection

Editorial reviewers begin by identifying the scientific literature most relevant to the topic under development.

• Which databases and scientific sources are consulted.

• Which publications are considered foundational.

• How scientific evidence is prioritized according to methodological relevance.

This initial selection establishes the scientific foundation for all subsequent editorial review stages.

Stage 2 — Knowledge Organization

After the scientific literature has been selected, editorial reviewers organize recurring concepts, intervention strategies and theoretical relationships emerging across multiple publications.

The objective is not to summarize individual papers, but to build a coherent editorial structure that reflects the broader scientific literature.

Computational tools may assist the organization and indexing of scientific literature, while editorial decisions remain grounded in scientific and methodological review.

Knowledge organization creates the conceptual foundation required for consistent editorial review.

Stage 3 — Theoretical Consistency Review

Every editorial resource is reviewed against explicit methodological criteria before progressing to editorial adaptation.

• Consistency with Functional Contextualism.
• Consistency with Psychological Flexibility.
• Consistency with the Hexaflex model.
• Absence of theoretically incompatible interventions.

Only resources that satisfy these methodological criteria proceed to the editorial translation stage.

Stage 4 — Editorial Translation

Editorial translation transforms scientific formulations into language that supports clinical consultation while preserving their original theoretical meaning.

The objective is not to simplify scientific concepts, but to express them in a form that clinicians can rapidly recognize and apply during therapeutic dialogue.

Example of editorial adaptation:

Scientific formulation

Cognitive defusion involves altering the functional relationship between verbal events and overt behavior.

↓

Editorial formulation

"Let's notice that thought together rather than argue with it."

↓

ACT Process

✓ Cognitive Defusion

Stage 5 — Editorial Consistency Review

Before publication, every editorial resource undergoes a final methodological review to ensure consistency, clarity and fidelity to the scientific literature.

This final review verifies that editorial adaptations remain theoretically coherent, clinically usable and consistent across the entire publication.

Before publication every editorial resource is reviewed to verify:

• ✓ Clarity
• ✓ Conceptual coherence
• ✓ Consistency across chapters
• ✓ Terminology
• ✓ Methodological transparency
• ✓ Preservation of ACT principles

Only after completing this review is the resource considered ready for publication.

Scientific Sources

Editorial decisions are informed by established scientific literature from Contextual Behavioral Science. Different source categories contribute distinct forms of evidence to the editorial review process.

No single publication is considered sufficient in isolation. Editorial decisions emerge from the integration of complementary scientific sources while maintaining theoretical consistency with Contextual Behavioral Science.