Get Out of Your Mind and into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

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He runs the leading Ph.D program in Behavior Analysis, and coined the term Clinical Behavior Analysis. He is known for devising a behavior analysis of human language and cognition called Relational Frame Theory, and its clinical application to various psychological difficulties, such as anxiety.

Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life by Steven Book Notes: Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life by Steven

I thought some of the early writing - even though they set out to write in lay terms - was opaque to read for whatever reason. I think it was stylistic - it might just be me - but that's how I felt. I’ve noticed in my own life that as my memory and verbal skills have increased, so has my pain/suffering. None of [these techniques] will work simply by reading about them, any more than reading about physical exercise will build your muscles.” (119) Most of us think of evolution only in terms of genetics, but that is a mistake. Culture, thought, behavior, and the expression of genes (the genes you have can be turned on or off) also evolve. In addition, we humans can influence our evolution by the environments we construct and the choices we make; our evolution is not just a matter of chance. We have been given the great gift of being able to adapt our thinking and behavior intentionally, and to change our circumstances deliberately, to better suit healthy, purposeful living. The six flexibility skills form such a powerful set because each allows us to meet one of the six essential criteria for evolution to occur. They provide us with the tools to intentionally evolve our lives.”

As much as I want to agree with the stop-thinking asceticism of cognitive behaviorism meets buddhism ("We're not saying don't feel your feelings! Feel them so deeply you don't care! Um! This makes sense to me sometimes while I'm at ACT therapy seminars!"), it just doesn't work for the more think-y among us. I like being in my mind. Being in my mind is being in my life. Finding varying ways to relate to pain -- sometimes cowering from it and sometimes snuggling up to it -- is what marks me as a human being. I find that ACT self-help book read dogmatically. And I think the mark of any bad self-help book and definitely any bad psychotherapy is a one size fits all approach -- believing so deeply as Hayes does that the tenets of this book repudiate other ways people try to help themselves. By shifting our focus to processes of change and leveraging the power of everyday nudges, we can create a more personalized, accessible, and effective therapeutic experience. According to your mind, the content of your pain is the source of your suffering because the pain is bad. Thus, you can measure suffering by the amount of the (bad) pain.” (129)

Get Out of Your Mind | Psychology Today UK Get Out of Your Mind | Psychology Today UK

The bond with your therapist may matter less than you might think. Here's what really makes a difference. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a new, scientifically based psychotherapy that takes a fresh look at why we suffer and even what it means to be mentally healthy. What if pain were a normal, unavoidable part of the human condition, but avoiding or trying to control painful experience were the cause of suffering and long-term problems that can devastate your quality of life? The ACT process hinges on this distinction between pain and suffering. As you work through this book, you’ll learn to let go of your struggle against pain, assess your values, and then commit to acting in ways that further those values.Whenever you’re not feeling motivated, it helps to have some strategies that can give you a push. Here are six things you can try to boost your motivation. What you are doing is practicing broadening and narrowing the flashlight beam of attention; and shifting and staying, as you might move a flashlight from one place to another.