Acceptance and commitment therapy is one of the most exciting developments in psychotherapy to occur in the last fifty years. ACT departs from conventional psychotherapeutic models, which strive to "fix", "control", or "get rid of" unwanted thoughts and behaviours. Instead, it demonstrates how to accept uncomfortable or painful situations without engaging with them, allowing them to pass away or diminish as they will. The therapy helps clients assess their own values and commit to acting on them in ways that lead to richer, more fulfilling lives. ACT is profound, revolutionary - and it works. As a result, thousand of therapists, new and experienced, are seeking to incorporate ACT work into their practices."Learning ACT" describes the six core therapeutic processes of ACT, outlining the theoretical background that sets the stage for the rest of the book. Then it outlines a process for case conceptualization from an ACT perspective and gives readers an opportunity to practice conceptualizing cases. Readers learn the ACT approach to establishing an effective and powerful therapeutic relationship and opportunities are provided for readers to practice their therapeutic relationship skills. A DVD included with the text offers role-played examples of the core ACT processes in action on both audio and video. In these examples, a picture is worth a thousand words, bringing to life the concepts developed in the text.

Reviews

Learning ACT "is by far the best practical skill-building work book produced so far in the ACT literature. Teaching psychotherapy skills is complicated, and this book serves as a model for how it can be done. This book breaks down the ACT core process into bite-size portions making these skills visible, understandable and doable. The book is organized around core competencies but uses an ingenious system of therapist-client dialogue where the reader is encouraged to interact and respond applying each core skill. Besides all the cutting edge skill training abundant in this book, you cannot miss the compassionate vital spirit that these extraordinary ACT therapists bring into the therapy room. This book will surely be a classic for teaching psychotherapy!"