ACT on Health Lab

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Lab Projects

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Our projects focus on improving the mental health and functioning of patients suffering from psychiatric and chronic medical conditions.

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Primary Investigator

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Meet Lilian Dindo, Ph.D., primary investigator of the Act on Health Lab.

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Acceptance Commitment Therapy

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Therapy designed to develop psychological flexibility in facing the demands of life.

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About the Lab

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2021 Group photo of the ACT on Health Lab members.

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The ACT on Health Lab, under the leadership of Lilian Dindo, Ph.D., is focused on developing pragmatic and innovative psychotherapeutic interventions to improve the mental health and functioning of patients suffering from psychiatric and chronic medical conditions.

Our work is focused on:

Providing evidence-based psychotherapeutic treatment in novel ways, that increase access and treatment adherence;
Reaching and treating patients with underreported and undertreated mental health and/or chronic medical difficulties; and elucidating the mechanisms by which effective treatments work.

Our team has developed a one-day (five-to-six hour) intensive behavioral intervention (based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy- ACT) that is presented as a “workshop” for patients with various conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, chronic pain, cardiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, mild traumatic brain injury and patients undergoing surgery. Across all studies, the intervention is tailored to meet the needs of the specific patient populations in civilians and veterans.

: The purpose of the ACT on Health toolkit is to support Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center mental health leadership and clinicians in implementation of 1-Day ACT workshops in community-based settings. The toolkit is based on 3-years of pilot work, funded by VA’s Office of Rural Health. During that time, our team delivered ACT 1-day workshops to Veterans in the rural Beaumont, Texas area in collaboration with community partners including Vet Centers, Veteran-serving nonprofits, and faith-based organizations.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A Transdiagnostic Behavioral Intervention for Mental Health and Medical Conditions. Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics. NIHMSID: NIHMS858234.

Truong H, McGinnis L, Dindo L, Honda CN, Giesler GJ Jr. Exp Brain Res. 2004 Apr;155(4):477-84. doi: 10.1007/s00221-003-1753-5. Epub 2003 Dec 19. PubMed PMID: 14689139.

Dindo L, Coryell W. J Affect Disord. 2004 Oct 1;82(1):119-23. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2003.08.008. PubMed PMID: 15465584.

Coryell W, Dindo L, Fyer A, Pine DS. Psychosom Med. 2006 Sep-Oct;68(5):754-7. doi: 10.1097/01.psy.0000232268.00327.b4. PubMed PMID: 17012529.

Dindo L, Fowles DC. Psychophysiology. 2008 Jan;45(1):111-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2007.00604.x. Epub 2007 Oct 1. PubMed PMID: 17910735.

Dindo L, McDade-Montez E, Sharma L, Watson D, Clark LA. Assessment. 2009 Sep;16(3):274-91. doi: 10.1177/1073191108328890. Epub 2009 Feb 18. PubMed PMID: 19228581.

Dindo L, Fowles D. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2011 Mar;100(3):557-66. doi: 10.1037/a0021848. PubMed PMID: 21186933.

Turvey C, Sheeran T, Dindo L, Wakefield B, Klein D. J Telemed Telecare. 2012 Sep;18(6):348-51. doi: 10.1258/jtt.2012.120220. Epub 2012 Aug 29. PubMed PMID: 22933480.

Dindo L, Recober A, Marchman JN, Turvey C, O'Hara MW. Behav Res Ther. 2012 Sep;50(9):537-43. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2012.05.007. Epub 2012 May 27. PubMed PMID: 22728646; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3408777.

Aburizik A, Dindo L, Kaboli P, Charlton M, Dawn K, Turvey C. J Affect Disord. 2013 Nov;151(2):769-774. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2013.06.028. Epub 2013 Jul 17. PubMed PMID: 23871127.

Dindo L, Recober A, Marchman J, O'Hara MW, Turvey C. Headache. 2014 Mar;54(3):528-38. doi: 10.1111/head.12258. PubMed PMID: 24741688; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3990866.

Turvey C, Klein D, Fix G, Hogan TP, Woods S, Simon SR, Charlton M, Vaughan-Sarrazin M, Zulman DM, Dindo L, Wakefield B, Graham G, Nazi K. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2014 Jul-Aug;21(4):657-63. doi: 10.1136/amiajnl-2014-002723. Epub 2014 Apr 16. PubMed PMID: 24740865; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4078285.

Dindo L, Recober A, Marchman J, O'Hara M, Turvey C. Int J Behav Med. 2015 Feb;22(1):109-17. doi: 10.1007/s12529-014-9390-x. PubMed PMID: 24515397.

Dindo L, Marchman J, Gindes H, Fiedorowicz JG. Psychother Psychosom. 2015;84(3):183-5. doi: 10.1159/000371495. Epub 2015 Mar 28. PubMed PMID: 25832203; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4393823.

Dindo L. Curr Opin Psychol. 2015 Apr 1;2:38-42. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.01.018. PubMed PMID: 25793217; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4360910.

Coryell WH, Butcher BD, Burns TL, Dindo LN, Schlechte JA, Calarge CA. J Clin Psychiatry. 2016 Jan;77(1):84-9. doi: 10.4088/JCP.14m09169. PubMed PMID: 26580857; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5520803.

Deumic E, Butcher BD, Clayton AD, Dindo LN, Burns TL, Calarge CA. J Clin Psychiatry. 2016 Jul;77(7):957-62. doi: 10.4088/JCP.15m09840. PubMed PMID: 27464316; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5520806.

Brock RL, Dindo L, Simms LJ, Clark LA. J Fam Psychol. 2016 Aug;30(5):602-13. doi: 10.1037/fam0000210. Epub 2016 Apr 21. PubMed PMID: 27100564.

Coryell W, Yolken R, Butcher B, Burns T, Dindo L, Schlechte J, Calarge C. Arch Suicide Res. 2016 Oct-Dec;20(4):605-13. doi: 10.1080/13811118.2016.1158677. Epub 2016 Apr 4. PubMed PMID: 27045220; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5067776.

Dindo L, Van Liew JR, Arch JJ. Neurotherapeutics. 2017 Jul;14(3):546-553. doi: 10.1007/s13311-017-0521-3. Review. PubMed PMID: 28271287; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5509623.

Dindo LN, Recober A, Haddad R, Calarge CA. Int J Behav Med. 2017 Aug;24(4):528-534. doi: 10.1007/s12529-016-9620-5. PubMed PMID: 28032323; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5517023.

Hou JK, Vanga RR, Thakur E, Gonzalez I, Willis D, Dindo L. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017 Oct;15(10):1633-1634. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2017.05.022. Epub 2017 May 19. PubMed PMID: 28532699.

Coryell WH, Langbehn DR, Norris AW, Yao JR, Dindo LN, Calarge CA. Psychiatry Res. 2017 Oct;256:305-311. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.06.036. Epub 2017 Jun 21. PubMed PMID: 28666200; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6193447.

Gandy K, Kim S, Sharp C, Dindo L, Maletic-Savatic M, Calarge C. Front Neurosci. 2017;11:571. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00571. eCollection 2017. PubMed PMID: 29123464; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5662616.

Dindo L, Elmore A, O'Hara M, Stuart S. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2017 Dec;20(6):757-764. doi: 10.1007/s00737-017-0769-y. Epub 2017 Aug 25. PubMed PMID: 28842756; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5759963.

Dindo L, Brock RL, Aksan N, Gamez W, Kochanska G, Clark LA. Psychol Sci. 2017 Dec;28(12):1786-1795. doi: 10.1177/0956797617721271. Epub 2017 Oct 12. PubMed PMID: 29023183; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6052977.

Huddleston C, Martin L, Woods K, Dindo L. Mil Med. 2018 Jul 1;183(7-8):e184-e192. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usx090. PubMed PMID: 29420786.

Thakur E, Recober A, Turvey C, Dindo LN. J Psychosom Res. 2018 Sep;112:47-52. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.06.012. Epub 2018 Jun 26. PubMed PMID: 30097135.

Dindo L, Zimmerman MB, Hadlandsmyth K, StMarie B, Embree J, Marchman J, Tripp-Reimer T, Rakel B. J Pain. 2018 Oct;19(10):1211-1221. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2018.04.016. Epub 2018 May 17. PubMed PMID: 29777950; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6163061.

Naik AD, Dindo LN, Van Liew JR, Hundt NE, Vo L, Hernandez-Bigos K, Esterson J, Geda M, Rosen J, Blaum CS, Tinetti ME. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2018 Oct;66(10):1872-1879. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15437. Epub 2018 Oct 3. PubMed PMID: 30281794.

Blaum CS, Rosen J, Naik AD, Smith CD, Dindo L, Vo L, Hernandez-Bigos K, Esterson J, Geda M, Ferris R, Costello D, Acampora D, Meehan T, Tinetti ME. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2018 Oct;66(10):2009-2016. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15465. Epub 2018 Oct 3. PubMed PMID: 30281777; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7015118.

Stotts AL, Villarreal YR, Klawans MR, Suchting R, Dindo L, Dempsey A, Spellman M, Green C, Northrup TF. Matern Child Health J. 2019 Jun;23(6):821-829. doi: 10.1007/s10995-018-02699-9. PubMed PMID: 30610529; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6511293.

Tinetti M, Dindo L, Smith CD, Blaum C, Costello D, Ouellet G, Rosen J, Hernandez-Bigos K, Geda M, Naik A. PLoS One. 2019;14(6):e0218249. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218249. eCollection 2019. PubMed PMID: 31181117; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6557523.

Feder SL, Kiwak E, Costello D, Dindo L, Hernandez-Bigos K, Vo L, Geda M, Blaum C, Tinetti ME, Naik AD. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2019 Jul;67(7):1379-1385. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15850. Epub 2019 Mar 7. PubMed PMID: 30844080; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6612577.

Tinetti ME, Naik AD, Dindo L, Costello DM, Esterson J, Geda M, Rosen J, Hernandez-Bigos K, Smith CD, Ouellet GM, Kang G, Lee Y, Blaum C. JAMA Intern Med. 2019 Oct 7;. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.4235. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31589281; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6784811.

Mellick WH, Mills JA, Kroska EB, Calarge CA, Sharp C, Dindo LN. J Clin Psychiatry. 2019 Oct 22;80(6). doi: 10.4088/JCP.18m12265. PubMed PMID: 31644841; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6854672.

Hadlandsmyth K, Dindo LN, Wajid R, Sugg SL, Zimmerman MB, Rakel BA. Psychooncology. 2019 Nov;28(11):2210-2217. doi: 10.1002/pon.5209. Epub 2019 Aug 30. PubMed PMID: 31430830.

Turvey CL, Lindsay JA, Chasco EE, Klein DM, Fuhrmeister LA, Dindo LN. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2019 Dec;42(4):635-647. doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2019.08.006. Epub 2019 Oct 1. Review. PubMed PMID: 31672213; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7778878.

Dindo LN, Recober A, Calarge CA, Zimmerman BM, Weinrib A, Marchman JN, Turvey C. Neurotherapeutics. 2020 Apr;17(2):743-753. doi: 10.1007/s13311-019-00818-0. PubMed PMID: 31863406; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7283406.

English K, May SB, Davila JA, Cully JA, Dindo L, Amico KR, Kallen MA, Giordano TP. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Jun;7(6):ofaa193. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa193. eCollection 2020 Jun. PubMed PMID: 32550239; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7291684.

Thakur ER, Sansgiry S, Kramer JR, Waljee AK, Gaidos JK, Feagins LA, Govani SM, Dindo L, El-Serag HB, Hou JK. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2020 Aug 20;26(9):1423-1428. doi: 10.1093/ibd/izz280. PubMed PMID: 31728520; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7441098.

Freytag J, Dindo L, Catic A, Johnson AL, Bush Amspoker A, Gravier A, Dawson DB, Tinetti ME, Naik AD. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020 Sep;68(9):2112-2116. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16662. Epub 2020 Jul 20. PubMed PMID: 32687218.

Dindo L, Roddy MK, Boykin D, Woods K, Rodrigues M, Smith TL, Gonzalez RD, True G. J Behav Med. 2020 Sep 17;. doi: 10.1007/s10865-020-00177-8. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 32940807.

Coryell W, Mills J, Dindo L, Calarge CA. Psychol Med. 2020 Oct;50(13):2283-2288. doi: 10.1017/S0033291719002551. Epub 2019 Oct 2. PubMed PMID: 31576781.

Roddy MK, Boykin DM, Hadlandsmyth K, Marchman JN, Green DM, Buckwalter JA 4th, Garvin L, Zimmerman B, Bae J, Cortesi J, Rodrigues M, Embree J, Rakel BA, Dindo L. J Psychosom Res. 2020 Nov;138:110250. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.110250. Epub 2020 Sep 15. PubMed PMID: 32961500; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7554120.

Hadlandsmyth K, Dindo LN, St Marie BJ, Wajid R, Embree JL, Noiseux NO, Tripp-Reimer T, Zimmerman MB, Rakel BA. Eval Health Prof. 2020 Dec;43(4):207-212. doi: 10.1177/0163278719856406. Epub 2019 Jun 13. PubMed PMID: 31195828; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6908780.

PrePARE: Preoperative Pain and Rehabilitation Education

Preventing Persistent Post-Surgical Pain and Dysfunction in At-Risk Veterans: Effect of a Brief Behavioral Intervention #1 R01 NR017610-01

Grant funding from National Institute of Nursing Research (Feb. 1, 2019 - Jan. 30, 2023)
Preoperative Pain and Rehabilitation Education (‘PrePARE’), a multi-site, multi-PI study aims to compare the effectiveness of a pre-surgical therapeutic workshop (ACT) to Attention Control (AC) on pain and functioning among veterans who are at-risk for developing chronic pain post-orthopedic surgery.

SOAR- Supportive Outreach and Reintegration

Combination Outreach and Wellness Intervention for Distressed Out-Of-Care Rural Veterans

Grant funding from VA Office of Rural Health (Oct. 1, 2019 - Aug. 30, 2021)
Supportive Outreach and Reintegration (‘SOAR’) is building partnerships with Veteran-centered community organizations and VHA CBOCs in areas serving rural-dwelling veterans to identify distressed veterans who may not otherwise seek mental health care and deliver 1-day Acceptance and Commitment Training plus Education, Resources and Support (ACT+ERS) workshops in community-based settings.
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SERVE Support and Education for Returning Veterans

One-day Life Skills Workshop for Veterans with TBI, Pain, and Psychopathology: Evaluating Efficacy and Mechanism of Change. #1 I01 RX003117-01A1

Grant Funding from VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Service (Feb. 1, 2020 - Dec. 31, 2023)
Support & Education for Returning veterans (‘SERVE’) is a randomized controlled trial for veterans returning from the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (OIF/OEF/OND) with polytrauma (mTBI, pain, psychopathology). The aims are to:
- Compare the efficacy of an ACT workshop to an active treatment comparison on symptoms of distress and social, occupational, and community reintegration.
- Examine mediators and moderators of treatment response to identify which ACT components are directly responsible for treatment effectiveness and whether treatment benefits are constrained by various personal factors.

TRIVE - Targeting HIV Retention and Improved Viral Load Through Engagement

Grant funding from National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
The goal of the project is to adapt, refine, and pilot an ACT intervention for out-of-care people with HIV (PWH) who present with avoidant coping. ‘Targeting HIV Retention and Improved Viral load through Engagement’ (‘THRIVE’) will aim to help out-of-care PWH overcome the cycle of avoidance coping which can keep PWH out of care and exacerbate/maintain stigma and comorbid mental health difficulties that are common in PWH.

BRAVE- Building Relationships with Vitality and Engagement

Engaging out-of-care distressed rural veterans and their partners in outreach and an ACT-based intervention

Grant funding from VA Office of Rural Health (Oct. 1, 2021 -)
Building Relationships with Vitality and Engagement (“BRAVE) is identifying rural-dwelling distressed veterans with the help of veteran-centered community organizations and VHA CBOCs in rural areas and delivering a one-day evidence-based mental health workshop followed by a one-day couples’ workshop for veterans and their partners.

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Lab Members

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View a listing of the members of the Act on Health lab.

Meet Our Team

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In the News

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The Act on Health Lab has been cited in journal articles and interviews.

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General Inquiries

ACT on Health Lab

ACT on Health Lab

Lab Projects

Primary Investigator

Acceptance Commitment Therapy

About the Lab

PrePARE: Preoperative Pain and Rehabilitation Education

SOAR- Supportive Outreach and Reintegration

SERVE Support and Education for Returning Veterans

TRIVE - Targeting HIV Retention and Improved Viral Load Through Engagement

BRAVE- Building Relationships with Vitality and Engagement

Lab Members

In the News

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General Inquiries

ACT on Health Lab

ACT on Health Lab

Lab Projects

Primary Investigator

Acceptance Commitment Therapy

About the Lab

Lab Members

In the News

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