Learning ACT: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Skills Training Manual for Therapists

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is among the most remarkable developments in contemporary psychotherapy. This second edition of the pioneering ACT skills-training manual for clinicians provides a comprehensive update—essential for both experienced practitioners and those new to using ACT and its applications.

ACT is a proven-effective treatment for numerous mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, stress, addictions, eating disorders, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and more. With important revisions based on new developments in contextual behavioral science, Learning ACT, Second Edition includes up-to-date exercises and references, as well as material on traditional, evidence-based behavioral techniques for use within the ACT framework.

In this fully revised and updated edition of Learning ACT, you’ll find workbook-format exercises to help you understand and take advantage of ACT’s unique six process model—both as a tool for diagnosis and case conceptualization, and as a basis for structuring treatments for clients. You’ll also find up-to-the-minute information on process coaching, new experiential exercises, an increased focus on functional analysis, and downloadable extras that include role-played examples of the core ACT processes in action. By practicing the exercises in this workbook, you’ll learn how this powerful modality can improve clients’ psychological flexibility and help them to live better lives.

Whether you’re a clinician looking for in-depth training and better treatment outcomes for individual clients, a student seeking a better understanding of this powerful modality, or anyone interested in contextual behavioral science, this second edition provides a comprehensive revision to an important ACT resource.

Jason B. Luoma, PhD, is director of Portland Psychotherapy, a research and training clinic based on a social enterprise model that uses business revenue to fund scientific research, where he maintains a small clinical practice. As a researcher, Luoma studies shame, self-criticism, and the interpersonal effects of emotion as well as related interventions. He is a recognized trainer in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), former chair of the ACT Training Committee, and past president of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science.

Steven C. Hayes, PhD, is Nevada Foundation Professor in the department of psychology at the University of Nevada. He has authored, coauthored, or edited nearly 600 scientific articles and book chapters, as well as forty-three books, including Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Relational Frame Theory, and The Wiley Handbook of Contextual Behavioral Science. A past president of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (which awarded him its Lifetime Achievement Award), and of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, he is among the most cited psychologists in the world (http://www.webometrics.info/en/node/58). He has conducted hundreds of trainings in ACT, and has graduated near fifty doctoral students in his career.

Robyn D. Walser, PhD, is director of TL Consultation Services, and codirector of the Bay Area Trauma Recovery Center. She works at the National Center for PTSD developing and disseminating innovative ways to translate science into practice, and serves as assistant clinical professor in the department of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. As a licensed clinical psychologist, she maintains an international training, consulting, and therapy practice. Walser has coauthored four books: Learning ACT, The Mindful Couple, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma-Related Problems, and ACT for Clergy and Pastoral Counselors.