Synopses & Reviews
Why is it so hard to be happy? Why is life so difficult? Why do humans suffer so much? And what can we realistically do about it? No matter how rewarding your job, as a mental health professional, you may sometimes feel helpless in the face of these questions. You are also well-aware of the challenges and frustrations that can present during therapy.
If you are looking for ways to optimize your client sessions, consider joining the many thousands of therapists and life coaches worldwide who are learning acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). ACT is not just a proven effective treatment for depression, anxiety, stress, addictions, eating disorders, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and myriad other psychological issues that focuses on mindfulness, client values, and a commitment to change. It's also a revolutionary new way to view the human condition, packed full of exciting new tools, techniques, and strategies for promoting profound behavioral change.
A practical and entertaining primer, ideal for ACT newcomers and experienced ACT professionals alike, ACT Made Simple offers clear explanations of the six ACT processes and a set of real-world tips and solutions for rapidly and effectively implementing them in your practice. This book gives you everything you need to start using ACT with your clients for impressive results. Inside, you'll find: scripts, exercises, metaphors, and worksheets to use with your clients; a session-by-session guide to implementing ACT; transcripts from therapy sessions; guidance for creating your own therapeutic techniques and exercises; and practical tips to overcome 'therapy roadblocks.'
This book aims to take the complex theory and practice of ACT and make it accessible and enjoyable for both you, the therapist, and your clients.
Review
This book presents a simple, practical, and incredibly useful program to create exactly what the title offers: effective, mindful employees. Its a must-have in the armamentarium of any psychologist or HR professional who wants to help people increase their satisfaction, improve their performance, create better relationships, or enhance well-being in the workplace.”
Russ Harris, author of The Happiness Trap
Review
This book is a remarkable step forward in accelerating productivity in the workplace while caring for the well-being and vitality of employees. When companies blend the proven ideas of mindfulness and value-directed actions into the work culture, the employees will blossom, the work teams will strengthen, and the organization will prosper. Research clearly suggests that applying the principles in this book will yield a solid return on investment. It is easy to envision leading-edge companies capitalizing on this training manual. These forward-thinking companies will not only advance their bottom line, but will also benefit the people of the organization.
The Mindful and Effective Employee training manual presents a solid how-to handbook for achieving the elusive win-win scenario of creating productive and healthy work environments.”
D.J. Moran, PhD, BCBA-D, senior vice president of Quality Safety Edge and founder of Pickslyde Consulting
Review
After reading
The Mindful and Effective Employee I felt inspired, wiser, and very well equipped to deal with both individual career coaching and brief but effective group exercises. This is a glistening gem of a book, and it provides the reader with a smart 'how-to' rationale for delivering cutting-edge, evidence-based workplace training. I want to start practicing what I learned right now!”
Walter Osika, MD, PhD, specialist in internal medicine and author of The Stressed Heart
Review
This book is a must for those wishing to make a significant contribution to workplace health and well-being. It is built out of workplace experience and research and written by authors who are experts in their field, offering techniques that are carefully crafted, known to work, and readily transferable into the workplace. More than just a valuable resource, this book gives support and confidence to those wanting to improve the quality of working lives.”
Philip Dewe, professor of organizational behavior, department of organizational psychology, Birkbeck, University of London
Review
Even though work is often defined as a necessary evil, having a job tops the list of what makes people happy in life. Work is a great source of both stress and joy. We spend more time working than doing any other single activity in our lives. It stands to reason that psychotherapists help us to learn to react to the challenges of work in ways that are healthy in the long run. The aim of this book is to demonstrate how ACT can be implemented in the workplace. The authors are internationally acclaimed experts in the field. The book is helpful for both the newcomer to ACT and the seasoned expert. It covers the theoretical aspects as well as practical session-by-session protocols and handouts. This book is the first of its kind; dont miss it!”
JoAnne Dahl, PhD, professor in the department of psychology, Uppsala University, Sweden
Review
“If you are looking for a hands-on approach to acceptance and commitment therapy, this book is must! Very well organized and written in clear, concise terms, Luoma and colleagues spell out the essentials of doing ACT, with annotated narrative in session transcripts demonstrating key points. You will leave this book with not only a set of clinical skills, but also with the knowledge of when and how to apply them in therapy.$rdquo;
—Kirk Strosahl Ph.D., coauthor of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An Experiential Approach to Behavior Change and A Practical Guide to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Review
“Learning ACT is by far the best practical skill-building work book produced so far in the ACT literature. Teaching psychotherapy skills is complicated, and this book serves as a model for how it can be done. This book breaks down the ACT core process into bite-size portions making these skills visible, understandable and doable. The book is organized around core competencies but uses an ingenious system of therapist-client dialogue where the reader is encouraged to interact and respond applying each core skill. Besides all the cutting edge skill training abundant in this book, you cannot miss the compassionate vital spirit that these extraordinary ACT therapists bring into the therapy room. This book will surely be a classic for teaching psychotherapy!”
—JoAnne Dahl, Ph.D, associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden
Review
“Russ Harris is an open, centered, and engaged teacher of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and, in ACT Made Simple, he succeeds in delivering a transparent account of a complex and powerful treatment. I recommend this book to mental health and medical providers and to their teachers.”
— Patricia J. Robinson, Ph.D., coauthor of Behavioral Consultation and Primary Care and The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression
Review
“ACT Made Simple is simply the most accessible book written to date for therapists interested in learning ACT. Russ Harris explains ACT concepts in a style that is both engaging and straightforward. His advice on overcoming therapy roadblocks is invaluable and will be useful to both novice and experienced ACT practitioners.”
— Jason B. Luoma, Ph.D., psychologist at Portland Psychotherapy Clinic, Research, and Training Center
Review
“Perhaps the most elegant, easily digestible book on using the principles of mindfulness and acceptance to improve your own life and the lives of others. Inside are a litany of creative exercises and strategies that are ready for immediate use. But none of the benefits would be possible without the supportive, entertaining voice of Russ Harris. There is something new to be learned with each reading.”
— Todd B. Kashdan, Ph.D., professor of psychology at George Mason University and author of Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life
Review
“ACT aims to increase psychological flexibility. Learn from this book and you'll be doing ACT rather than just talking about doing ACT. And you’ll be doing it with greaterflexibility.”
— Hank Robb, Ph.D., ABPP
Review
“Let’s face it: psychological concerns are complex. If modern behavior therapy is to rise to the occasion of reducing human suffering, it will require a similarly intricate and comprehensive approach. ACT attempts to provide a multifaceted treatment model to address these complexities, and ACT Made Simple has risen to the occasion by reducing the difficulties in understanding the unique ACT approach. Harris’s expressive style is matchless. Comprehensive scientific and clinical literature rarely reads this well. This is a clear, understandable introduction to a powerful intervention approach. Many practitioners who are new to ACT will want to start with ACT Made Simple.”
— Daniel J. Moran, Ph.D., BCBA, coauthor of ACT in Practice
Review
“This much-needed book is a must for mental health clinicians interested in learning ACT. True to his physician roots, Harris has taken a very practical approach to understanding ACT. He does a wonderful job of taking complicated ACT concepts and making them easy to understand. His writing is full of wit, self-disclosure, and down-to-earth communication. Readers of this book will finish it with a much better understanding of core ACT principles and interventions.”
— Kirk D. Strosahl, Ph.D., coauthor of The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression
Review
“For newcomers to ACT, there is no better place to start than with this book. Russ Harris masterfully makes ACT come alive with an accessible writing style and illustrative examples of its application in alleviating a wide range of types of human suffering. Practical tips and homework assignments throughout will actively engage you to go beyond merely reading about ACT and begin to apply it to your own life and in your work with clients. For those who may have been holding out for ACT for Dummies, the wait is over. This book is for you!”
— Robert Zettle, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Wichita State University and author of ACT for Depression
Review
“For those of you who train or supervise nurses, physicians, social workers, or other professionals unffamiliar with psychological lingo, ACT Made Simple is a must. Russ Harris has succeeded in the challenge of translating difficult psychological concepts embedded in ACT into plain, colorful, diverse language that anyone working clinically will understand. Each section is simply organized, easy to follow, and user-friendly. Harris has included highly useful sections of practical tips and common pitfalls that even the trained ACT therapist will find useful. I highly recommend ACT Made Simple as a primer for ACT training.”
— JoAnne Dahl, Ph.D., author of The Art and Science of Valuing in Psychotherapy
Review
“ACT Made Simple is just that. Dr. Harris has, once again, written a very accessible book that should be read by all clinicians wanting to learn, engage, or otherwise implement ACT in their practices. This book is a must for ACT readers. My thanks to Dr. Harris for making ACT so user-friendly and understandable.”
— Robyn D. Walser, Ph.D., author of The Mindful Couple
Synopsis
The benefits of reducing employee stress are innumerable, as relaxed employees have a lower rate of absenteeism, higher rate of productivity, and enhanced resilience to workplace challenges. Reducing stress in the workplace is no longer only a matter of company culture—in today’s economic climate, it is a priority that effective businesses cannot afford to neglect.
The Mindful and Effective Employee presents a complete program based in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) that employee trainers, human resource managers, life coaches, group therapists, occupational health professionals, and organizational development practitioners can use to enhance employee productivity and performance . In three group sessions, trainers can deliver ACT psychological and behavioral skills that will make lasting changes in employee resilience and productivity. This program is created by the world’s leading experts on ACT training in workplace settings.
The program outlined in this book is designed to produce increased awareness among employees, a reduction in the need to engage in stressful and unneccesary internal struggles with unwanted thoughts and feelings, and an enhanced sense of personal resilience in facing challenging events or situations.
By learning effective mindfulness strategies, employees can gain direction, meaning, and purpose in their work life.
Synopsis
The Mindful and Effective Employee presents a powerful three-session acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) program for reducing workplace stress and increasing employee effectiveness. Psychologists and human resource professionals will use this program to conduct employee training in workplace settings.
Synopsis
The importance of improving and maintaining employees psychological health is now widely recognized by occupational health researchers and practitioners, business leaders, human resource professionals, and policy makers alike. Indeed, a growing body of research has established that psychological well-being is one of the most important factors in job performance.
The Mindful and Effective Employee offers an evidence-based workplace training program based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). The program is specifically designed to improve employees psychological healthas well as their effectiveness at work and in their personal livesthrough a combination of mindfulness and values-guided behavioral skills. This book is designed for use by psychologists, coaches, occupational health practitioners, and human resource professionals who are interested in improving employee well-being, performance, and quality of life. The training program described in this book is designed to:
- Promote employee self-awareness
- Help employees find purpose, direction, and meaning
- Offer new ways to improve work and life effectiveness
- Help employees identify and pursue valued goals and actions
Synopsis
This much-needed workbook and DVD combination offers clinicians interested in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) a solid and straightforward training manual to the powerful and clinically proven techniques of this revolutionary model.
Synopsis
The groundswell of interest in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is among the most remarkable developments in contemporary psychotherapy. Whether you are new to the profession or an experienced clinician with an established career, seeking to incorporate ACT work into your practice, this book is an essential resource. ACT is both a unique approach and somewhat counterintuitive in its methods. Learning to “do ACT” well requires practice, patience, and good information. This book is a major contribution to ACT professional literature: a comprehensive, activity-based workbook that will 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.
Learning ACT begins with an overview of the ACT model, outlining its theoretical and philosophical underpinnings. Next you will learn how to understand and make use of the six core ACT processes. In later chapters, you'll be introduced to the ACT approach to establishing an effective and powerful therapeutic relationship and learn to conceptualize cases from an ACT perspective. Throughout these chapters are numerous exercises to help you apply what you are learning in order to process the material at a deeper level.
Unique to this volume is a DVD that includes role-played examples of the core ACT processes in action. Use this helpful addition to bring to life the concepts developed in the text. An invaluable aid to serious ACT study, the DVD can be reviewed often as you gain facility with the model.
Synopsis
Internationally-known acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) trainer Russ Harris presents ACT Made Simple, a complete, accessible guide for therapists interested in understanding the ACT model and teaching core ACT principles to their clients.
About the Author
Paul E. Flaxman, PhD, is senior lecturer in psychology at City University London. He specializes in adapting acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help improve employees' mental health and performance. Evaluations of Paul's ACT interventions have been published in numerous scientific papers and books, and he has been invited to present his research at conferences around the globe. Paul recently directed two major projects focused on delivering ACT and other mindfulness-based interventions to public sector workers across the United Kingdom. Frank W. Bond, PhD, is professor of psychology and director of the Institute of Management Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. His research and consulting work focus on the psychological and organizational processes that underpin peak performance and well-being in the workplace.
Fredrik Livheim, MS, is a licensed clinical psychologist at FORUM, a research center for psychosocial health at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. He has trained more than 400 professionals in how to use ACT in group format to improve employees' mental health. His research focuses on the use of ACT in group format in the workplace.
Steven C. Hayes, PhD, is Nevada Foundation Professor and director of clinical training at the department of psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of 38 books and over 540 scientific articles, his career has focused on analysis of the nature of human language and cognition, and its application to the understanding and alleviation of human suffering and promotion of human prosperity. Among other associations, Hayes has been president of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. His work has received several awards, including the Impact of Science on Application Award from the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy.