Third-wave Behaviorism

Third-wave behaviorism, also called the third wave of cognitive behavioral therapy, is a loosely grouped movement of psychotherapeutic approaches that emerged from the late 1980s onward, building on the first wave of classical behavior therapy and the second wave of cognitive therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Rather than aiming primarily to change the content of a person's thoughts, third-wave approaches such as acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behavior therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy generally emphasize a person's relationship to their own thoughts and feelings, incorporating mindfulness, acceptance, values-based action and context alongside, rather than instead of, direct symptom reduction. The term reflects a historical framing rather than a single unified theory, and its constituent therapies vary considerably in technique even as they share this broad emphasis on acceptance and psychological flexibility.