ACT in Practice

A. Bach Patricia

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique
• Psychotherapy

Informations

• Publié par: New Harbinger Publications
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 0001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781608826308
• Langue: English

Extrait

case conceptualization in acceptance and commitment therapy
Patricia A. Bach and Daniel J. Moran
New Harbinger Publications, Inc. -->
Publisher’s Note
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books
Copyright © 2008 by Patricia Bach and Daniel J. Moran
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
5674 Shattuck Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
www.newharbinger.com
Cover design by Amy Shoup
Text design by Michele Waters
Acquired by Catharine Sutker
Edited by Jean Blomquist
All rights reserved
Epub ISBN: 9781608826308
The Library of Congress has Cataloged the Print Edition as:
Bach, Patricia A.
ACT in practice : case conceptualization in acceptance and commitment therapy / Patricia A. Bach and Daniel J. Moran.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-57224-478-8 (hardback : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-57224-478-X (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Acceptance and commitment therapy. I. Moran, Daniel J. II. Title. III. Title: Acceptance and commitment therapy in practice.
[DNLM: 1. Cognitive Therapy--methods. 2. Adaptation, Psychological. 3. Mental Disorders--therapy. 4. Patient Participation. 5. Self Concept. 6. Treatment Outcome. WM 425.5.C6 B118a 2008]
RC489.C62B37 2008
616.89’1425--dc22
2008002065
To Hannelore Bach—my mother, teacher, cheerleader, friend.
—PAB

“You should dedicate the book to me, and Louden, and Mommy. And Grandma B too, ’cuz she’s your ma. Okay?” —Harmony Moran, seven years old (August 20, 2006)
She was right!
—DJM
Contents
A Letter from the Series Editor
Preface
Acknowledgments
Section 1: An Introduction to ACT Principles
Chapter 1. An Orientation to ACT
Chapter 2. Clinical Behavior Analysis and the Three Waves of Behavior Therapy
Chapter 3. Functional Analysis and ACT Assessment
Chapter 4. Relational Frame Theory
Chapter 5. What Is Case Conceptualization?
Section 2: The Fundamentals of ACT Case Conceptualization
Chapter 6. Conceptualizing Functionally
Chapter 7. Contacting the Present Moment and Perspective Taking
Chapter 8. Values, Commitment, and Behavior Change Processes
Chapter 9. Acceptance Processes
Section 3: Putting ACT into Practice
Chapter 10. Creative Hopelessness: When the Solution Is the Problem
Chapter 11. Bringing Mindfulness to Clinical Work
Chapter 12. Values Work
Chapter 13. Defusion and Deliteralization
Chapter 14. Willingness
Chapter 15. Acceptance and Change
Chapter 16. Pulling It All Together
Epilogue. Saying Good-Bye to Shandra and Rick
Appendix A. ABC Functional Analysis Sheet
Appendix B. Inhexaflex Case-Conceptualization Worksheet
Appendix C. Event Log
Appendix D. Suggestaflex
References
Dear Reader:
Welcome to New Harbinger Publications. New Harbinger is dedicated to publishing books based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and its application to specific areas. New Harbinger has a long-standing reputation as a publisher of quality, well-researched books for general and professional audiences.
Case conceptualization in mental health care can be thought of as a process of framing psychological problems with at least two sets of eyes focused on finding durable solutions. It functions like a lighthouse beacon, illuminating what is known about a client, pointing therapists and clients alike in a direction, and suggesting what to do to get there. How such problems are framed makes a huge difference in what happens, or fails to happen, next. When case conceptualization is off the mark, it can have disastrous consequences for the client and weaken your ability to help as a therapist. This is why case conceptualization is so important in therapy. ACT is no different in this regard.
ACT is a newer third generation behavior therapy that has the look and feel of Eastern and more experiential psychotherapies, and is built on a technical account, evidentiary principles, and theory that share a close affinity with the cognitive behavioral tradition. In a way, ACT is all of these and none of them, which is why folks wishing to learn ACT can find it challenging to learn and hard to apply. Inevitably, therapists interested in learning ACT ask: How do I apply ACT to my clients? This book will help you find the answer.
ACT in Practice is a great resource for readers who wish to learn how to conceptualize a wide range of problems from an ACT perspective. Without going into too much detail about the scientific and conceptual underpinnings of ACT, this intensely practical book provides brief and concise explanations of the six core ACT processes that feed many forms of human suffering and then teaches therapists how to link each of them to specific ACT intervention strategies and treatment targets. The choreography of ACT case conceptualization is well illustrated in this book, and as you will see, the dance is fluid, shifting, recursive, process focused, and nonlinear. ACT in Practice is a way of thinking that includes knowing what to look for, and when, and for what purpose. This book will help you learn to put this know-how into practical ACT ion .
A unique focus of the book is on ways to integrate ACT case conceptualization and individualized treatment. Throughout the book, you will find client-therapist transcripts drawn from the authors’ clinical work, along with occasional commentary about the therapist’s thinking processes and strategy. You will also find several user-friendly forms and exercises; all with the intent of helping you learn to apply ACT in assessing and treating the people that seek you out because they are suffering. In short, this book offers technical and conceptual knowledge, general tools and strategies, and practical skills that will nurture your ability to adopt an ACT therapeutic stance in your clinical practice.
Putting ACT into practice can appear seductively simple and experientially hard. The authors will walk you through why this is so, but for now, much of it has to do with what the work entails. ACT is an approach that is built on a model of human suffering that is counterintuitive: one where therapists are susceptible to the same forces that create vitality and those that trap and ensnare their clients and lead them to suffer.
ACT also challenges some deeply entrenched, Westernized ideas about health and wellness: that pain is bad and must be gotten rid of, that feeling good is more important than just about anything else in life, and that feeling and thinking well is necessary in order to live well. For these and other reasons, Section III of the book includes opportunities for you to practice recognizing and experiencing how ACT-relevant processes play out in your own life, for good and for ill. You get to practice ACT in practice for yourself. These exercises will help you more fully describe and model an ACT-consistent stance in your clinical work.
Other workbooks and therapist guides in the New Harbinger ACT Book Series are more problem-specific and provide detailed descriptions of specific ACT techniques. They describe how to implement value-guided behavioral activation generally, and for specific types of problems. ACT in Practice offers some of that too, and will help you develop a solid framework so that you may avoid misapplying ACT techniques in a rigid and inflexible way. A solid ACT case conceptualization framework is necessary for effective ACT practice. Studies suggest that what you learn in this book will help you be a more effective therapist too.
As part of New Harbinger’s commitment to publishing sound, scientific, clinically based research, John Forsyth, Ph.D., Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., and Georg Eifert, Ph.D., oversee all prospective ACT books for the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Series. As ACT Series editors, we review all ACT books published by New Harbinger, comment on proposals and offer guidance as needed, and use a gentle hand in making suggestions regarding content, depth, and scope of each book. We strive to ensure that any unsubstantiated claim or claims that are clearly ACT inconsistent are flagged for the authors so they can revise these sections to ensure that the work meets our criteria (see below) and that all of the material presented is true to ACT’s roots (not passing off other models and methods as ACT).
Books in the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Series : Have an adequate database, appropriate to the strength of the claims being made Are theoretically coherent—they will fit with the ACT model and underlying behavioral principles as they have evolved at the time of writing Orient the reader toward unresolved empirical issues Do not overlap needlessly with existing volumes Avoid jargon and unnecessary entanglement with proprietary methods, leaving ACT work open and available Keep the focus always on what is good for the reader Support the further development of the field Provide information in a way that is of practical use to readers
These guidelines reflect the values of the broader ACT community. You’ll see all of them packed into this book. They are meant to ensure that professionals get information that can truly be helpful, and that can further our ability to alleviate human suffering by inviting creative practitioners into the process of developing, applying, and refining a more adequate approach. Consider this book such an invitation.

Sincerely,
John Forsyth, Ph.D., Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., and Georg H. Eifert, Ph.D.
Preface
A client recently said, “I’m not getting where I want to be in life because I am afraid of being afraid.” Such paradoxes are common among therapy clients, and indeed among all of us. A paradox commonly encounte