Examining the role of cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance in predicting anxiety and depression.

Interventions designed to reduce cognitive fusion may be a useful early intervention for sub-clinical anxiety and depression. Interventions focused on reducing both cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance may be helpful for individuals presenting with clinical anxiety and depression. Individuals presenting with particularly high levels of experiential avoidance may benefit from initial work defusing from difficult thoughts, as an inroad for reducing experiential avoidance, anxiety, and depression. Likewise, those with rigid cognitive fusion may benefit from initial work around acceptance skills to create a context that better supports defusion.