Synopses & Reviews
How does mindfulness work? Thousands of therapists utilize mindfulness-based treatments and have witnessed firsthand the effectiveness of these approaches on clients suffering from anxiety, depression, and other common mental health issues. But for many clinicians, the psychological processes and brain functions that explain these changes remain a mystery, and effective methodologies for measuring each client's progress are elusive.
In Assessing Mindfulness and Acceptance Processes in Clients, Ruth Baer presents a collection of articles by some of the most respected mindfulness researchers and therapists practicing today. Each contribution assesses the variables that represent potential processes of change, such as mindfulness, acceptance, self-compassion, spirituality, and focus on values, and determines the importance of each of these processes to enhanced psychological functioning and quality of life. Clinicians learn to accurately measure each process in individual clients, an invaluable skill for any practicing therapist. A seminal contribution to the existing professional literature on mindfulness-based treatments, this book is also an essential resource for any mental health professional seeking to illuminate the processes at work behind any mindfulness and acceptance-based therapy.
The Mindfulness and Acceptance Practica Series
As mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies gain momentum in the field of mental health, it is increasingly important for professionals to understand the full range of their applications. To keep up with the growing demand for authoritative resources on these treatments, The Mindfulness and Acceptance Practica Series was created. These edited books cover a range of evidence-based treatments, such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), compassion-focused therapy (CFT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) therapy. Incorporating new research in the field of psychology, these books are powerful tools for mental health clinicians, researchers, advanced students, and anyone interested in the growth of mindfulness and acceptance strategies.
Review
I love the matrix. Sometimes you need a way of thinking about ACT that is so focused on what is critical and so simple that you cannot forget it. That's the matrix. The number of situations that call for it is stunning: as a tool for difficult clients; when you feel lost in therapy; for an elevator speech with a business person; to do a thirty-minute talk with a lay group; to guide a chat with a school principal; and on and on. This is the first book on the matrix and how to use it. Let me simplify it for you: Get it. Read it. Use it.”
Steven C. Hayes, PhD, cofounder of ACT and professor of psychology at the University of Nevada
Review
This book is a must-have for anyone interested in practicing or teaching ACT.”
JoAnne Dahl, PhD, professor of psychology at Uppsala University, Sweden, and coauthor of ACT and RFT in Relationships
Review
The matrix method of delivering ACT has experienced a rapid increase in popularity in the last few years.
The ACT Matrix provides a simple, mindful framework for delivering ACT in a wide number of contexts, including areas involving emotional disorders, eating disorders, addiction, pain, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and pro-social behavior. It can be used in the clinic, in schools, in organizations, or any setting [where someone] would benefit from increased psychological flexibility and resilience. If you would like a quick, accessible way to learn and start practicing ACT, this book is for you.”
Joseph Ciarrochi, PhD, author of the best-selling teen book, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life for Teens
Review
In
The ACT Matrix, editors Kevin Polk and Benjamin Schoendorff simplify the entire ACT model into two basic distinctions. The first two chapters of the book, written by the editors and collaborators, summarize the matrix diagram by discriminating between sensory and mental experiencing and between moving toward versus away from your values. These are well-written and entertaining. I was unfamiliar with the matrix, and after reading these introductory paragraphs, I had a good feel for what the work would look and feel like with a client in the therapy room.
The remaining chapters of the book apply to specific settings, presenting problems and populations. I believe that you could skip to whatever work you most commonly do, or read straight througheither would be useful! These chapters are written by practitioners who are experts in each of the areas, and the subtle details of how the matrix can be used differently with each issue really shine through. I believe this will be a great addition to many office bookshelves, and I would say to pick up a copy right away!”
Amy R. Murrell, PhD, associate professor at the University of North Texas
Review
The matrix is transparent and user-friendly for both mental health and medical providers working in brief treatment settings. As a matrix practitioner, you will help many people, including those with addictions, chronic pain, and relationship problems. Add
The ACT Matrix to your bookshelf now and benefit from Polk and Schoendorffs numerous examples of how to use this highly accessible tool.”
Patricia J. Robinson, PhD, author of Real Behavior Change in Primary Care and Brief Interventions for Radical Change
Review
"Informed by the maxim that you can’t study what you can’t see, Baer’s book provides the necessary psychometric underpinning to further our understanding of core change processes in mindfulness-based interventions."
—Zindel V. Segal, Ph.D., Cameron Wilson Chair in Depression Studies at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and author of The Mindful Way Through Depression
Review
"Mindfulness meditation has become a leading clinical intervention for clients with multiple problems, ranging from pain and physical discomfort (mindfulness-based stress reduction) to mental health problems such as depression (mindfulness-based cognitive therapy). Although mindfulness training has been shown to be effective in various clinical outcome studies, questions have been raised about the mechanisms of change that help explain these successful results. This new book, edited by Ruth Baer, provides a variety of perspectives on potential mechanisms of change, including decentering, psychological flexibility, values processes, emotion regulation, self-compassion, and spiritual engagement. I highly recommend this book as a cutting-edge approach to understanding mindfulness and acceptance processes in clients."
—G. Alan Marlatt, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Washington and director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center
Review
"Ruth Baer has consistently been at the forefront of careful study of the efficacy of mindfulness-based treatments. In this edited volume, she provides readers with a thoughtful review of a crucial area of study: potential mechanisms that may underlie the efficacy of mindfulness and acceptance-based psychotherapies. Each chapter provides a conceptual and empirical review of a relevant process (e.g., decentering, emotion regulation), as well as relevant assessment methods. This kind of attention to the reasons why mindfulness-based intervention may be beneficial will help stimulate informative research in the area and also help clinicians provide therapy that enhances these important skills."
—Lizabeth Roemer, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts and coauthor of Mindfulness- and Acceptance-Based Behavioral Therapies in Practice
Review
"In this comprehensive and much-needed book, Ruth Baer and colleagues present the most up-to-date findings on exactly how mindfulness and acceptance might work to increase psychological well-being. An excellent resource not only for mindfulness researchers and practitioners, but for anyone interested in what leads to mental health and emotional balance."
—Cassandra Vieten, Ph.D., director of research at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and author of Mindful Motherhood
Review
"A fascinating journey to the heart of what actually changes in mindfulness and acceptance-based treatment. Ruth Baer and her colleagues offer a brilliant and careful review of one of the most exciting areas of behavioral research in decades. This book is highly recommended for psychotherapists, health care professionals, and anyone seeking the very latest scientific understanding of psychological change."
—Christopher K. Germer, Ph.D., clinical instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School and author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion
Review
"A cutting edge text which responds with rigor and clarity to the salient questions in the field of mindfulness-based interventions, namely, what are the mechanisms and processes of change? And how can these processes be assessed? Baer does an excellent job weaving different perspectives and theories from a wide range of experts to provide a pioneering response to these compelling questions."
—Shauna L. Shapiro, Ph.D., coauthor of The Art and Science of Mindfulness
Review
"This is an important and timely book. Ruth Baer has brought together international experts in the clinical and research fields to build a critically important bridge between ancient wisdom and modern psychological science. This book will be essential reading for students, researchers, and practitioners of mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches."
—Mark Williams, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Oxford and coauthor of The Mindful Way Through Depression
Synopsis
Edited by clinical psychologists and popular ACT workshop leaders Kevin Polk and Benjamin Schoendorff, The ACT Matrix fuses the six core principles of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) into a simplified, easy-to-apply approach. This essential book shows professionals and general readers how this approach can be used to treat a variety of disorderssuch as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, trauma, and eating disordersin a variety of settings and contexts. Professionals will also learn how to work more effectively with difficult clients and increase clients' psychological flexibility. A must-have for ACT practitioners looking to streamline their therapeutic approach.
Synopsis
If you are an ACT practitioner or mental health professional, this eagerly awaited resource is an essential addition to your professional library.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based therapy that has been successful in treating a variety of psychological issues, such anxiety, depression, substance abuse, trauma, eating disorders, and more. In contrast to other treatment options, ACT has proven extremely effective in helping clients who are stuck” in unhealthy thought patterns by encouraging them align their values with their thoughts and actions. However, the ACT model is complex, and its not always easy to use.
Traditionally, ACT is delivered with a focus around six core processes that are often referred to as the hexaflex: cognitive defusion, acceptance, contact with the present moment, observing the self, values, and committed action. Each of these core processes serves a specific function, but they are often made more complex than needed in both theory and in practice. So what if there was a way to simplify ACT in your sessions with clients?
Edited by clinical psychologists and popular ACT workshop leaders Kevin L. Polk and Benjamin Schoendorff, The ACT Matrix fuses the six core principles of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) into a simplified, easy-to-apply approach that focuses on client actions and behavior as workable or unworkable, rather than good or bad. Most importantly, youll learn how this innovative approach can be used to deliver ACT more effectively in a variety of settings and contexts, even when clients are resistant or unmotivated to participate.
This is the first book to utilize the ACT Matrix model, and it is a must-read for any ACT practitioner looking to streamline his or her therapeutic approach.
Synopsis
In Assessing Mindfulness and Acceptance Processes in Clients, well-known psychology researcher Ruth Baer and eleven other contributors including Kelly Wilson, Lizabeth Roemer, and Jean Kristeller examine how mindfulness works, explain how to measure mindfulness in clients, and explore how mindfulness can account for improvements in psychological functioning.
Synopsis
How therapists relate to their clients can have a profound impact on treatment outcomes. Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Made Simple is the first professional resource to offer a practical treatment approach focused on interpersonal relationships. Written by the founders of this evidence-based modality, the book integrates the latest research on the importance of the therapist-client relationship with the new science of social connection into a user-friendly, contextual behavioral framework.
Synopsis
Written by the founders of functional analytic psychotherapy, Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Made Simple is the first professional resource to offer a practical treatment approach focused on client interpersonal relationships.
Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) is a proven-effective treatment for mental health disorders, and has been shown to enhance the quality of interpersonal relationships. If you’re a therapist, how you relate to your clients can have a profound impact on treatment outcomes. This book integrates the latest research on the importance of the therapist-client relationship with the new science of social connection into a user-friendly, contextual behavioral framework.
In this book, you’ll find an introduction of the promise and foundation of FAP with an emphasis on practice and reflection, and then dive deeper into each separate element of practice: assessment and case conceptualization, present-moment experience, emotions, self and values, exercises, mistakes in FAP, and getting “unstuck” in therapy. You’ll also learn to help clients implement awareness, courage, and love as the basis of all social connection. Finally, you’ll learn how this treatment model can be used to respond to some of the most challenging issues clinicians face, such as clients who aren’t improving, clients with whom your relationship is very intense or volatile, clients who are hard to like, and clients with whom there is a lot of frustration or unspoken conflict.
No matter your treatment background, this book will provide invaluable strategies for adopting functional analytic psychotherapy in your practice, enhancing relationships with your clients, and improving overall treatment outcomes.
Synopsis
The ACT Matrix revolutionized contextual behavioral science by fusing the six core principles of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) into a simplified, easy-to-apply approach. Now, the creators of this pioneering new model present The Essential Guide to the ACT Matrix—the first detailed, step-by-step guide to help professionals implement the ACT Matrix in clinical practice and improve clients’ psychological flexibility.
Synopsis
The ACT Matrix revolutionized contextual behavioral science. Now, the creators of this pioneering new model present the first detailed, step-by-step guide to help professionals implement the ACT Matrix in clinical practice and improve clients’ psychological flexibility.
If you’re a clinician, you know that acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is extremely effective in helping clients who are “stuck” in unhealthy thought patterns by encouraging them align their values with their thoughts and actions. However, the ACT model is complex, and it's not always easy to use. Enter the ACT Matrix, a seamless fusion of the six core processes of the ACT hexaflex—cognitive defusion, acceptance, contact with the present moment, observing the self, values, and committed action—into a simplified, easy-to-apply approach.
From the editors of The ACT Matrix, The Essential Guide to the ACT Matrix offers professionals a comprehensive guide to using the innovative Matrix model in-session. With this book, you’ll learn how to help your clients break free from painful psychological traps and live more meaningful lives. You’ll also learn how client actions and behavior should be viewed as workable or unworkable, rather than good or bad. Most importantly, you'll discover how this unique approach can be used to deliver ACT more effectively in a variety of settings and contexts, even when clients are resistant or unmotivated to participate.
This book is essential for any ACT clinician looking to simplify their therapeutic approach in client sessions.
About the Author
Benjamin Schoendorff, MA, MSc, is a clinical psychologist with a passion for disseminating contextual psychotherapies. He is the author of two French language books, an ACT self-help book, and a clinician’s manual based on the matrix diagram. A peer-reviewed acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) trainer, he leads international workshops on integrating ACT and relationship-focused functional analytic psychotherapy through the use of the Matrix.Mark Webster is a registered psychotherapist with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). Following a first career in the computer industry, he worked for ten years at a specialist personality disorder clinic in the National Health Service (NHS). His involvement in third-wave cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) began with dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) in 1997, which led to an early interest in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Webster has been an ACT trainer since 2002 and currently runs his own business specializing in acceptance and mindfulness therapies. In 2005, he founded the ACT special interest group within the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP). In 2008, with Kevin Polk he created the ACT Matrix, a very user-friendly way of delivering ACT in a group setting. Webster’s main interest is in finding ways to make ACT more widely available outside of traditional mental health settings. He has recently founded a community interest company called ACT Peer Recovery CIC to develop peer recovery in addiction and mental health. In addition to offering training in mental health, he regularly conducts ACT workshops for physical health practitioners, including nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. Webster has been practicing mindfulness for over twenty-five years and is current chair of the UKCP’s Cognitive Psychotherapies College.Fabian Olaz, PsyD, is adjunct professor in clinical psychology and psychotherapies, and researcher and director of the Interpersonal Behavior Laboratory in the Faculty of Psychology, University of Córdoba (Argentina). He is an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and functional analytic psychotherapy supervisor and psychotherapist at the Integral Center of Contextual Psychotherapy (CIPCO), and a recognized trainer in Argentina, Brazil and other South American countries.