Synopses & Reviews
As a life coach, you help people live purposeful lives that are driven by their deepest values. And although your clients may not have diagnosable mental health disorders, it's likely that many of them encounter mental roadblocks such as fear, stress, anxiety, and worry that keep them from reaching their goals and developing their full potential.
Thousands of cognitive behavioral psychologists from around the world rely on a method called acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help their therapeutic clients get "unstuck" from these barriers and improve their level of functioning. In Maximize Your Coaching Effectiveness with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, you'll learn to help your coaching clients harness these powerful psychological techniques to identify their passions, set values-based professional and personal goals, and realize their full potential. By guiding your clients through ACT-based exercises in mindfulness training and values clarification, you'll help them accept aspects of their situations that can't be changed, coexist with fear and other painful emotions, and commit to taking the actions that will lead them to success.
Maximize your coaching effectiveness by:
- Adapting powerful psychological techniques to fit your life-coaching practice
- Learning simple exercises you can do with clients to help them get unstuck
- Getting tips for assessing clients, assigning homework, and sparking motivation
- Helping clients master mindfulness to overcome fear, worry, and procrastination
Review
"I loved this book! The acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) approach to overcoming stress and creating a balanced, peaceful life is the most groundbreaking and powerful approach I have ever encountered. Blonna’s strategies are truly life-changing. I highly recommend this book."
—Lyn Kelley, Ph.D., LMFT, CPC, president of GROW Training Institute, Inc., and professional speaker, writer, coach, and consultant
Review
"Like no other book available on stress, this volume both embraces what was useful about the traditional literature on stress and takes the reader into unexpected and powerful new territory. You will never think the same way about your stress again."
—Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., Foundation Professor of Psychology at the University of Nevada and author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life
Review
"In Stress Less, Live More, Blonna distills ACT into a useable stress management program. People looking for a natural and reasonable approach to reducing stress and increasing valued living will be drawn to this book."
—Kevin L. Polk, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and ACT trainer
Review
“For any coach who wants to be more effective and find more fulfillment in their work, this textbook is a must-have. Richard Blonna has done an excellent job of making the ACT model clear and accessible. Not just a highly practical book, but also an interesting and entertaining read.”
—Russ Harris, author of The Happiness Trap and ACT Made Simple
Review
“Blonna has done a superlative job of integrating the ACT principles and practices with coaching. I found the most valuable part was dealing with what Blonna calls the psychologically inflexible client. His tips for how to assist clients in getting ‘unstuck’ using values fusing are enlightening and powerful. I also greatly appreciate his mindfulness strategies and how they blend with his concrete and practical tools. His intake forms are essential for all practitioners. This book is a must-read for both coaches and counselors!”
—Lyn Kelley, PhD, LMFT, CPC, president of GROW Training Institute, Inc., continuing education and coach training organization
Review
“This beautifully written and intensely practical book marries two unlikely bedfellows—a therapeutic approach (ACT) with the practice of life coaching. Guided by the author’s gentle, expert hand, it became clear to me that this marriage is like that of two soulmates, who together dance effortlessly, elevating one another to achieve a common purpose: a life that matters. This book delivers on the promise in its title. Full of practical exercises and evidence-based know-how, it is a must-read for life coaches who want to enrich their work and make a difference in the lives of those who are stuck and trying to find a way forward.”
—John P. Forsyth, PhD, professor of psychology and director of the anxiety disorders research program at the University of Albany - SUNY and author of Your Life on Purpose and The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety
Review
“For many years, acceptance and commitment training has been applied to organizations, and it’s only natural to extend the benefits to coaching. In his book, Blonna combines a clear and concise description of ACT with his vast knowledge of coaching. Beyond those interested in coaching, anyone interested in using ACT for themselves or with others would benefit from reading this book.”
—Kevin L. Polk, PhD, author of Psychological Flexibility Training
Review
“ACT seems destined to transform the coaching profession. The scientifically-based principles of ACT are based on the psychology of normal people and fit the structure and purpose of coaching hand in glove. Readable, sensible, and comprehensive, this volume shows you exactly how to apply ACT to your coaching practice. If you work as a coach or are considering doing so, there is no better place to begin.”
—Steven C. Hayes, PhD, Foundation Professor at the University of Nevada and author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life
Synopsis
With its focus on psychological flexibility and making peace with the present moment, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a perfect fit for the treatment of stress, yet this is the first book to apply ACT to stress management. Richard Blonna's ACT-based approach to coping with stress, Stress Less, Live More, combines cutting-edge psychological techniques drawn from ACT with classic relaxation strategies such as meditation, visualization, and systematic muscle relaxation.
This comprehensive guide to stress management helps readers act in ways that reinforce their big-picture values without being distracted by day-to-day mental clutter. Readers also learn to defuse from unnecessary stressful thought traps such as the 'thoughts are reality' trap and the 'thoughts are orders' trap so that they can be simultaneously more productive and more relaxed. The book includes a useful chapter that shows readers how to assert their rights to say 'no' and 'I don't care, ' stop solving other people's problems, and demand time for themselves.
Synopsis
In Stress Less, Live More, a health education specialist presents a comprehensive, effective plan for stress reduction that incorporates acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and classic relaxation strategies.
Synopsis
I'm never going to finish this project on time. This is hopeless; everything's going wrong. Why do I try to do everything at once? A busy life is full of stressful situations that's a given. But that doesn't mean there is nothing you can do. Your thoughts can actually affect the way your brain processes stress, for better or worse. Most of the time, our brains compound the problem, adding thoughts of self-doubt and frustration to already difficult situations.
Stress Less, Live More presents a program based in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) that can help you train your brain to react to stress in a different way. With the mindfulness and acceptance techniques in this book, you'll clear out mental clutter, enhance your focus, and concentrate on the present moment, so that you can channel your energy into what matters most to you. It's that simple.
- Learn to mindfully accept what can't be changed
- Find peace and contentment in the present moment
- Practice relaxation skills you can use to calm yourself in a crisis
- Make time for yourself by asserting your right to say 'no'
Synopsis
In Maximize Your Coaching Effectiveness with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Richard Blonna provides professional life coaches with the skills they need to effectively apply acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) principles to their coaching practices, helping clients to get ìunstuckî from the mental barriers that hold them back, stay motivated, and achieve goals aligned with their personal values.
About the Author
Richard Blonna, EdD, is a university professor and author who has integrated acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) principles and practices into his work as a teacher and nationally certified life coach, counselor, and health education specialist. He has helped thousands of students and clients learn how to manage stress and other mental barriers and meet their life goals. He lives in Hillsborough, NJ.
Table of Contents