Acceptance and commitment therapy : deliberate practice to develop and enhance skills in ACT / by Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Walser, Robyn D., Author.

O'Connell, Manuela, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Acceptance and commitment therapy.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy--methods.

Medical Subjects:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy--methods.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vi, 354 pages)

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, [2026]

Summary:

"Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an intervention that turns on three primary understandings of what it means to be human. Humans are unique in their limitless ability to derive relations through language -- figuring out how things are connected, even without being directly taught. This book helps both newer and seasoned clinicians develop skills and self-efficacy in implementing ACT as an integrated therapy, fluidly moving from one process to the next or flexibly implementing them across a session. It focuses on including both "starter" skills and those that bridge therapists to the next level of understanding and practice, including intermediate and advanced skills. In addition to the written material, there are deliberate practice exercises in ACT. Deliberate practice refers to structured, goal-directed training that hones ACT competencies through repeated, feedback-informed exercises and self reflections, helping therapists move from basic fluency to advanced, more flexible use of the model. These exercises are meant to assist therapists in understanding the underpinnings of ACT -- its theoretical foundations -- through experiential work, including working through clinical examples, and help therapists implement the model using a functional contextual approach. These exercises also assist therapists in learning ACT through a process that includes personal experience with the material, thus the self-reflection practices, and provide basic, intermediate, and advanced skills in ACT techniques and exercises designed to evoke and reinforce clinically relevant material supporting positive and values-based change related to self and therapy. These exercises assist therapists in developing competencies supporting the therapeutic alliance from an ACT perspective."--Preface (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Contents:

Introduction: Orientation to the deliberate practice of acceptance and commitment therapy / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell

I. Overview of acceptance and commitment therapy and deliberate practice ; Foundations of acceptance and commitment therapy and deliberate practice / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell

II. Theoretical underpinnings of acceptance and commitment therapy ; Functional contextualism defined and explored / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Behavioral principles in applied work : using the functional analysis framework / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Relational frame theory defined and explored / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Acceptance and commitment therapy and suffering / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Psychological flexibility / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell

III. Beginner: Introduction to the six core processes of acceptance and commitment therapy ; Flexible experiencing in action : acceptance / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Flexible experiencing in action : defusion / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Flexible experiencing in action : present moment / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Experiencing self-as-context : flexible perspective taking / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Values-based behavior : chosen purpose / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Committed action : behavioral flexibility / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell

IV. Intermediate: Skills building in the six core processes of acceptance and commitment therapy ; Case conceptualization / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Skill building and competencies : acceptance / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Skill building and competencies : defusion / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Skill building and competencies : contact with the present moment / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Skill building and competencies in perspective taking : self-as-context / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Skill building and competencies in values-based living : chosen purpose / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Skill building and competencies in committed action : behavioral flexibility / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell

V. Advanced: Integration of acceptance and commitment therapy pillars and the therapeutic relationship ; Open, aware, and engaged : integrating the three pillars / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Acceptance and commitment therapy skill in the therapeutic relationship and alliance / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell ; Relationship rupture / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell

Epilogue: Exploring the future / Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O'Connell

References

Index

About the authors.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Electronic reproduction. Washington, D.C. : American Psychological Association, 2026.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

Other Format:

Print version: Acceptance and commitment therapy

ISBN:

1433844206

9781433844201

143385015X

9781433850158

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.