DClinPsy Portfolio Volume 1 of 3 - University of Hertfordshire ...

Experiential avoidance is the unwillingness to experience certain internal events and to
attempt to avoid or control these (Hayes and Gifford, 1996). It is considered to result in a
forsaking of what one might really want to achieve e.g. a person who previously enjoyed
going out and who has been invited to a social event but decides not to go because they
feel too fat, may thus be depriving themselves of the opportunity to engage in a valued
activity. Tendencies to negatively evaluate certain internal events, define the self by
these, and struggle to avoid them, can therefore operate as a barrier to ‘valued behaviours
and life directions’ (Hayes and Pankey, 2002).
ACT holds that ‘negative’ thoughts and affect do not themselves produce behavioural
harm but much of their impact comes from the consequences of failed attempts to avoid
them. Avoidance may increase the frequency and intensity of the emotions and involve
unhelpful methods (e.g., substance abuse and physically avoiding people, places or things
that elicit the emotion). It is when experiential avoidance is chronic, excessive and/or
rigid, that it may lead to psychopathology; indeed, high levels of the processes of fusion
and experiential avoidance are thought to underlie most forms of psychopathology
(Hayes et al 2006). Kashdan, Barrios, Forsyth and Steger’s (2006) self-report
correlational study also suggested that experiential avoidance is a learned and potentially
toxic predisposition for acute distress and psychopathology.
Experiential avoidance and disordered eating
Experiential avoidance may play a role in disordered eating, with food restriction being a
way to avoid or reduce body image thoughts. In a study examining the relation between
cognitive avoidance and disordered eating in college women, higher scores on two Eating
Disorder Inventories (EDI-2; Garner, 1991) subscales were associated with taking longer
to process threat related words, such as ‘fail’ (Meyer, Waller and Watson, 2000). The
authors suggested that experiential avoidance may play a role in eating disorders,
including AN, asserting that food restriction could be an attempt to avoid or reduce
negative weight or body image thoughts.
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