Steven C. Hayes, Kirk D. Strosahl, Kelly G. Wilson
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By: The Guilford Press
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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Mental Health -> Compulsive Behavior
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Psychology & Counseling -> Psychoanalysis
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3
Average rating: 5.0 of 5
Challenging Current Thinking in Clinical Psychology 5 out of 5 stars.
100 of 100 people found this review helpful.
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.
Editorial Review:
Most therapists and clients believe that a more vital life can be attained by overcoming negative thoughts and feelings. Yet despite efforts to achieve this goal, many individuals continue to suffer with behavior disorders, adjustment difficulties, and low life satisfaction. This volume presents a unique psychotherapeutic approach that addresses the problem of psychological suffering by altering the very ground on which rational change strategies rest. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses in particular on the ways clients understand and perpetuate their difficulties through language. Providing a comprehensive overview of the approach and detailed guidelines for practice, this book shows how interventions based on metaphor, paradox, and experiential exercises can enable clients to break free of language traps, overcome common behavioral problems, and enhance general life satisfaction.
