Sez. generale - Studi e ricerche
N. 54 (2024)
Pratiche di accettazione, mindfulness e terapia espositiva
Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi, Roma
Abstract
Sebbene l’esposizione per abituazione, basata sul principio di cancellazione della memoria eccitatoria aversiva, sia ancora oggi largamente prevalente in ambito clinico, un modello differente, quello dell’apprendimento inibitorio, si propone di modificare radicalmente il trattamento delle fobie e dell’ansia, enfatizzando il ruolo delle procedure, diverse dall’abituazione, che elicitano, nel paziente, la creazione e il rafforzamento di una memoria rivale, la c.d. memoria inibitoria. L’articolo vuole essere una riflessione sul ruolo dell’esposizione nelle pratiche di accettazione in uso nella c.d. Terza Onda della Psicoterapia Cognitivo Comportamentale, in gran parte basate sull’utilizzo della mindfulness, e intende mostrare, basandosi sulle evidenze scientifiche più recenti, come tali pratiche possano essere inquadrate proprio all’interno del paradigma fissato dalla teoria dell’apprendimento inibitorio e come, per esse, conseguentemente, si apra un potenziale spazio di miglioramento procedurale, diretto all’ottimizzazione della forza, della durata e della recuperabilità della associazione inibitoria, al rafforzamento del processo di estinzione e al contrasto del ritorno della paura e dell’emozione negativa.
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