ACT for Musicians: A Guide for Using Acceptance and Commitment Training to Enhance Performance, Overcome Performance Anxiety, and Improve Well-Being

While it is widely recognized that music contributes to the health and well-being of societies, the reverse is not necessarily true. Being a professional musician is a rewarding yet challenging occupation, and the results of newer survey studies show musicians experience psychological challenges, like depression and anxiety, at much higher rates than adults in the general public.

This book introduces Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) as an intervention for addressing some of the most common problems facing student and professional musicians across the world. A broadly applicable model for behavior change, ACT can be used by professionals in both clinical and non-clinical settings with adequate training. Thus, this book is intended for musicians and practitioners from various backgrounds, including psychologists, music teachers, performance coaches, and others, who are looking for an evidence-based approach for enhancing music performance, treating performance anxiety, managing pain and recovery from injury, and coping with other issues like perfectionism, procrastination, shame, burnout and career uncertainty. Written by a clinical psychologist/performance coach and a singing teacher/vocalist in a conversational yet highly informative style, this book provides a detailed discussion of ACT and the research supporting it, and it gives step-by-step instructions for using it to treat those common problems.

INSIDE THIS BOOK YOU'LL FIND

* Practical guides on how to apply the six processes of ACT--Mindfulness, Acceptance, Defusion, Self-as-Context, Values & Committed Action--to enhance performance, overcome performance anxiety, and improve well-being

* Exercises, techniques, metaphors and worksheets you can use as a musician or a practitioner

* Exclusive interviews with leading experts in psychology and music performance about how they use ACT and similar strategies within their practice

* Foreword by renowned performance enhancement coach, Phil Towle

David G. Juncos, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and performance coach with LifeStance Health, in Philadelphia, PA. He earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from La Salle University in 2015. He has over 16 years' experience in treating a variety of clinical problems, including anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders. He specializes in the treatment of music performance anxiety (MPA) and has presented internationally on his research in using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to treat MPA and enhance music performance. He is on faculty with the Voice Study Centre, a UK-based provider of postgraduate study in Voice Pedagogy and Performance Coaching for Performing Artists. There he provides lectures and tutorials on MPA, ACT, Motivational Interviewing, achieving peak performance, and statistics/research design, and he trains music teachers in ACT coaching to help them manage students' MPA and other performance-related problems. He is also an amateur songwriter and has performed both as a solo artist and in bands throughout the Philadelphia area as a vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist. To learn more about David, and for his contact information, please visit: www.actformusicians.com.

Elvire de Paiva e Pona, MA, is a classically trained singer who earned her Master's degree in Vocal Performance from Anton Bruckner University, in Austria. She has performed internationally for over 10 years, singing in operas and concerts ranging from classical to French chanson. She is a passionate singing teacher with additional degrees in Psychology and Vocal Pedagogy. Based in Vienna, she teaches individual and group singing lessons and facilitates music classes for young children. She first learned about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a Master's student and experienced great benefit incorporating it into her life as a musician. She went on to write her thesis on using ACT to enhance music performance and teaching. After graduating, she co-authored an article with David Juncos on using ACT as a performance anxiety treatment and performance enhancement method for musicians. She currently uses ACT in her music lessons to help enhance students' performance and well-being. To learn more about Elvire, and for her contact information, please visit: www.actvocal.com.