Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An Experiential Approach to Behavior Change (Paperback)

by Steven C. Hayes (Author), Kirk D. Strosahl (Author), Kelly G. Wilson Phd (Author) "Happiness for a dog or a cat is straightforward..." (more)
Key Phrases: derived stimulus relations, motivative augmental, creative hopelessness, Chessboard Metaphor, The Force, Identity Exercise (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"This profound book is structured into three parts, Part I, The Problem and The Approach is made up of three chapters dealing with the Dilemma of Human Suffering, The Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations of ACT and The ACT Model of Psychopathology and Human Suffering....The cost of this book is a mere $36.00. Given the potential potency of its contents, it is a unique bargain, a valuable addition to any comparative psychotherapy course and a compelling addition to any advanced cognitive psychotherapy course. Recommended reading for any serious student of behavioral psychotherapy, it is an important book. It may well reflect the next move forward in therapy and our understanding of the human condition."--Child &Family Behavior Therapy
-- Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Once in a while, there is a unique contribution to psychotherapy. Even more rare is the grounding of that contribution in sound philosophy, on the one hand, and firm data, on the other. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy represents such an effort. In a truly creative leap forward, Hayes and his colleagues present a new approach to behavior change that is ‘must' reading for everyone in the field of psychotherapy or behavior therapy, as well as students entering the profession."--David H. Barlow, PhD, ABPP

"The pragmatic and reasonable approach described in this book will be of great interest to therapists from any disciplinary background. It will also serve as an excellent text in graduate-level counseling and psychotherapy courses."--Arthur Freeman, EdD, ABPP

"Presents an innovative approach to helping clients accept their thoughts and feelings and overcome experiential avoidance.... The authors delineate a solid clinical rationale and provide clear guidelines for ACT implementation. A real strength of this book is the chapters on each stage of treatment, which detail a wealth of strategies and interventions and include excellent exercises, therapist-client dialogues, and pointers for practice."--Leslie S. Greenberg, PhD

"This is no ordinary book. Only rarely do we come across a work that fundamentally influences the way we think about the practice of psychology. This has been my experience of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy....Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is not only essential for understanding ACT, but I would consider it important reading for anyone interested in modern therapy and the future of Clinical Psychology. While ACT is only one example of the most recent flowering of the scientist-practitioner/clinical psychology resurgence, it is one that I believe many clinicians will find fits their scientific training, personal philosophies, and is a "workable" vehicle for themselves and their clients. After reading this book I have unashamedly become an ACT fan. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is the single most useful book I have ever read on psychology....I have also found that it has informed my understanding of other therapeutic approaches. It was a joy, and a challenge, to encounter a therapy so thoughtful, and humane, while so steeped in theory and in the experimental literature. It is a wonderful example of the scientist-practitioner model in action. I can recommend it wholeheartedly as an extremely interesting and very useful book for any clinical psychologist."--New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists Journal

"...I was thoroughly engaged after the first paragraph....I would recommend the text as one of many useful guides for beginning clinicians. Its strengths include the process of engaging with clients and building an effective working relationship. The many therapeutic exercises offered are a particularly valuable inclusion in the book."--Psychotherapy in Australia

"...presents an interesting alternative to the dominant models in clinical psychology. Practicing counsellors and graduate students of psychology would be well advised to read this text."--The Irish Psychologist

"[This is] a valuable addition to any comparative psychotherapy course and a compelling addition to any advanced cognitive psychotherapy course. Recommended reading for any serious student of behavioral psychotherapy, it is an important book. It may well reflect the next move forward in therapy and our understanding of the human condition."--Child and Family Behavior Therapy

"Presents an interesting alternative to the dominant models in clinical psychology. Practicing counselors and graduate students of psychology would be well advised to read this text."--Irish Psychologist

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (July 29, 2003) Language: English ISBN-10: 1572309555 ISBN-13: 978-1572309555 Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,916 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #31 in  Books > Health, Mind & Body > Mental Health > Compulsive Behavior #67 in  Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > Psychotherapy, TA & NLP #81 in  Books > Professional & Technical > Medical > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Psychiatry

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Happiness for a dog or a cat is straightforward. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
derived stimulus relations, motivative augmental, creative hopelessness, cognitive defusion, pragmatic truth criterion, functional contextualism, dirty discomfort, cognitive fusion, experiential avoidance, bus metaphor, willingness scale, valued direction, conceptualized content, multiproblem client, dysfunctional clients, conceptualized self, verbal goals, verbal relations, stimulus functions, nonverbal organisms, relational frames, healthy normality, conceptualize the client, emotional avoidance, verbal community

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Chessboard Metaphor, The Force, Identity Exercise, Milk Exercise, Physicalizing Exercise, Recreation Spirituality Citizenship Health

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 5 books:

• Animal Behavior (Understanding Science and Nature) by Patricia Daniels in Back Matter
• The Observing Self by Arthur J. Deikman on page 184
• Social Psychology by Elliot Aronson in Back Matter
• Social Psychology by Stan L. Albrecht in Back Matter
• Social Psychology (Addison-Wesley series in social psychology) by David Joe Schneider in Back Matter

 

11 books cite this book:

• Living Beyond Your Pain: Using Acceptance & Commitment Therapy to Ease Chronic Pain by Joanne Dahl in Front Matter, and Back Matter
• Buddhist Thought and Applied Psychological Research: Transcending the Boundaries (Routledgecurzon Critical Studies in Buddhism) by D. K. Nauriyal on page 449, and page 469
• Overcoming Depression One Step at a Time: The New Behavioral Activation Approach to Getting Your Life Back (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) by Michael E., Ph.D. Addis in Back Matter
• Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Steven C. Hayes in Back Matter
• The Worry Trap: How to Free Yourself from Worry & Anxiety using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Chad, Ph.D. Lejeune in Back Matter

See all 11 books citing this book

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life by Steven C. Hayes

Discusses:

• derived stimulus relations
• cognitive defusion
• cognitive fusion

Clinical Handbook of Couple Therapy, Third Edition by Alan S. Gurman Phd

Discusses:

• pragmatic truth criterion
• experiential avoidance
• valued direction

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy for Anxiety Disorders by Georg H. Eifert

Discusses:

• creative hopelessness
• cognitive defusion
• functional contextualism

Mindfulness and Acceptance by Steven C. Hayes

Discusses:

• derived stimulus relations
• creative hopelessness
• cognitive defusion

Living Beyond Your Pain by Joanne Dahl

Discusses:

• cognitive defusion
• cognitive fusion
• experiential avoidance

Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches by Ruth A. Baer

Discusses:

• creative hopelessness
• cognitive defusion
• cognitive fusion

Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life by Steven C. Hayes Discusses: derived stimulus relations cognitive defusion cognitive fusion Clinical Handbook of Couple Therapy, Third Edition by Alan S. Gurman Phd Discusses: pragmatic truth criterion experiential avoidance valued direction Acceptance & Commitment Therapy for Anxiety Disorders by Georg H. Eifert Discusses: creative hopelessness cognitive defusion functional contextualism Mindfulness and Acceptance by Steven C. Hayes Discusses: derived stimulus relations creative hopelessness cognitive defusion Loading...

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	54% buy the item featured on this page: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An Experiential Approach to Behavior Change 5.0 out of 5 stars (3) $27.00
	25% buy Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy 4.3 out of 5 stars (34) $14.93
	11% buy Learning Act: An Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Skills-Training Manual for Therapists (Context / Nhp Context / Nhp) 4.8 out of 5 stars (6) $29.67
	6% buy The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety: A Guide to Breaking Free from Anxiety, Phobias, and Worry Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy 4.7 out of 5 stars (14) $14.93

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3 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 100 of 100 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging Current Thinking in Clinical Psychology, July 13, 2000 By  Dr Andrew Page (Nedlands, Western Australia Australia) - See all my reviews This review is from: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An Experiential Approach to Behavior Change (Hardcover) Hayes and colleagues have made an excellent contribution with their book Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) by drawing together many years of theoretical work and practice into a very readable work. The first half of the book outlines the theoretical foundations of ACT. Many recent books in clinical psychology claim to offer a new psychotherapeutic technique or a new approach within a particular conceptual framework. In contrast, Hayes and colleagues present a new and comprehensive conceptual foundation for psychotherapy. They seek to challenge some of the cherished notions in mental health (e.g., that mental disorders always arise from abnormality) and critique some of the central ideas in many popular therapies (e.g., the idea in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy that mental health will be improved by changing the content of one's thoughts). Their argument identifies language and our use of it as both one of the key reasons for humanity's success and our inability to rid ourselves of many mental health issues. For a reflective practitioner or academic, the arguments presented will give the reader much food for thought. The second half of the book outlines the practice of ACT and as such illustrates the fist part. This sections is excellent in that even thought it uses language to describe ACT, it attempts to use the principles of ACT upon the reader and gives the reader examples to work though at the end of each chapter. Thus, the reader cannot emerge at the end of the book without having been changed by reading the book. The ability to critique current thinking in clinical psychology is not novel, but the ability to present an alternative is much more rare. Hayes and colleages have done so and have presented it in a way that will be accessible to practitioners and researchers from many different theoretical orientations. A challenging and thought-provoking book. 15 of 16 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Acceptance and Commitment Therapy:An Experiential Approach to Behaviour Change, September 8, 2005 By  Luana Morris "Luana" (Australia) - See all my reviews A really good overview and also in depth approach to a new therapy that could well be the next CBT - easy to read and with some very clear examples and analogies. I recommend it to anyone that has found that CBT has some gaps in regards to recurrance and behaviour change. 7 of 8 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Still the core ACT book, April 3, 2008 By  Jason L (Oregon) - See all my reviews In my opinion, this is still the core ACT book to read. This book is just packed with a wealth of information, insights, and novel approaches to clinical problems. There is no other ACT book written to date that matches this one in its scope, overview, and coherence in terms of explaining the ACT model and linking it to the basic behavioral principles with underlie the approach. Even though I've had this book for almost a decade, I still refer to it's dogeared and underlined pages almost every week. If you are a therapist interested in ACT, this book should be in your hands.		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (July 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572309555
• ISBN-13: 978-1572309555
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,916 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #31 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Mental Health > Compulsive Behavior
  #67 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > Psychotherapy, TA & NLP
  #81 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Medical > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Psychiatry

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

100 of 100 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging Current Thinking in Clinical Psychology, July 13, 2000

By	Dr Andrew Page (Nedlands, Western Australia Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An Experiential Approach to Behavior Change (Hardcover)

Hayes and colleagues have made an excellent contribution with their book Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) by drawing together many years of theoretical work and practice into a very readable work. The first half of the book outlines the theoretical foundations of ACT. Many recent books in clinical psychology claim to offer a new psychotherapeutic technique or a new approach within a particular conceptual framework. In contrast, Hayes and colleagues present a new and comprehensive conceptual foundation for psychotherapy. They seek to challenge some of the cherished notions in mental health (e.g., that mental disorders always arise from abnormality) and critique some of the central ideas in many popular therapies (e.g., the idea in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy that mental health will be improved by changing the content of one's thoughts). Their argument identifies language and our use of it as both one of the key reasons for humanity's success and our inability to rid ourselves of many mental health issues. For a reflective practitioner or academic, the arguments presented will give the reader much food for thought.

The second half of the book outlines the practice of ACT and as such illustrates the fist part. This sections is excellent in that even thought it uses language to describe ACT, it attempts to use the principles of ACT upon the reader and gives the reader examples to work though at the end of each chapter. Thus, the reader cannot emerge at the end of the book without having been changed by reading the book.

The ability to critique current thinking in clinical psychology is not novel, but the ability to present an alternative is much more rare. Hayes and colleages have done so and have presented it in a way that will be accessible to practitioners and researchers from many different theoretical orientations. A challenging and thought-provoking book.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Acceptance and Commitment Therapy:An Experiential Approach to Behaviour Change, September 8, 2005

By	Luana Morris "Luana" (Australia) - See all my reviews

A really good overview and also in depth approach to a new therapy that could well be the next CBT - easy to read and with some very clear examples and analogies. I recommend it to anyone that has found that CBT has some gaps in regards to recurrance and behaviour change.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the core ACT book, April 3, 2008

By	Jason L (Oregon) - See all my reviews

In my opinion, this is still the core ACT book to read. This book is just packed with a wealth of information, insights, and novel approaches to clinical problems. There is no other ACT book written to date that matches this one in its scope, overview, and coherence in terms of explaining the ACT model and linking it to the basic behavioral principles with underlie the approach. Even though I've had this book for almost a decade, I still refer to it's dogeared and underlined pages almost every week. If you are a therapist interested in ACT, this book should be in your hands.