ACT for Treating Children: The Essential Guide to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Kids

Written by an experienced clinical psychologist and educational and developmental psychologist, ACT for Treating Children offers clinicians clear, practical, brief, and developmentally appropriate strategies grounded in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help children ages 5 to 12 learn effective coping skills, manage emotions, and bounce back from life's difficulties.

If you treat children struggling with mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety, you know that approaches designed for adults do not work with younger clients. ACT for Treating Children presents skills grounded in evidence-based ACT to help children regulate emotions and cope with the inevitable ups and downs of life, and is suitable for clinicians with no prior knowledge of or training in ACT, as well as seasoned ACT clinicians.

This practical clinician’s guide outlines a simplified version of the ACT Hexaflex―a key component of this treatment model―called the Kidflex, to help young clients build resilience and psychological flexibility. You’ll also find detailed case studies, transcripts, activities, experiential exercises, worksheets, and session plans to help you develop the skillset you need to help children overcome disorders such as stress, anxiety and depression. Finally, you’ll find strategies for involving parents in treatment when appropriate, and enlisting them as ‘ACT coaches’ in the child’s therapy.

It can be difficult to know where to start when using ACT for individual therapy with children. That’s why the skills in this go-to guide are practical and easy-to-implement, can be done with children in both face-to-face therapy and online sessions, and are simple enough for children to put into practice in any setting―whether it’s at home, in school, or out in the world.
 

Tamar D. Black, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and an educational and developmental psychologist in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She is also a school psychologist, and runs a private practice working with children, adolescents, young adults, and parents. She has extensive experience providing clinical supervision to early-career and highly experienced psychologists. She also provides training in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to clinicians and teachers in using ACT with children and adolescents, and using ACT in schools.

Foreword writer Russ Harris is a therapist and coach, and was a general practitioner before being introduced to ACT. Russ is a world-renowned ACT trainer, and is author of ACT Made Simple, The Happiness Trap, The Reality Slap, ACT with Love, and more.