Practicing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Head and Heart: Understanding the Why Behind Each Intervention

This book will help readers balance the essential scientific concepts underlying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with their clinical practice, reconnecting ACT with its behavioural therapeutic roots and Relational Frame Theory. Clinicians often struggle to understand the science (the “head”) that should underpin their clinical practice/work (the “heart”). Without a core understanding of the scientific concepts underlying ACT, clinicians struggle to understand how to adapt ACT in practice for specific client or group situations and why. In response to that, this book is structured to help readers understand the why of each intervention and how to use that to guide the next move. Through a mix of explanations, personal examples, exercises for the therapist, short cases, and metaphors, the book provides a series of science‑driven concepts that teach the reader to use the ACT toolbox with skilful interventions. This manual is a must‑read for any ACT trainee or practitioner, helping them systematically connect techniques with the rationale for their use.

Table of Contents:
Foreword: Standing at the cradle of art and science Introduction 1 What you need to know about connecting the heart of ACT with the head of ACT 2 Identifying and understanding client stories: Exploring self‑as‑content 3 Understanding and weakening fusion through defusion interventions 4 Creative hopelessness and why it is so central in ACT 5 Learning to stay in the here‑and‑now 6 Acceptance and willingness to embrace discomfort 7 Letting go of your story and taking control of your life from self‑as‑context 8 Values‑oriented action from self‑as‑context 9 Finally

About the Author :
Lieve Bruyninx is the owner of Factor Psy, a mental health care training institute. She is a psychologist and peer‑reviewed ACT trainer with 20 years of behaviour therapy expertise. Yvonne Barnes‑Holmes is the Co‑Founder of Perspectives Ireland and Co‑Developer of Process‑Based Behaviour Therapy (PBBT). She has 25 years of experience in behaviour therapy. Ciara McEnteggart is the Co‑Founder of Perspectives Ireland and Co‑Developer of Process‑Based Behaviour Therapy (PBBT). She has 15 years of experience in behaviour therapy. Marjolein Vleugel has been working as a Healthcare Psychologist for more than 20 years. She is the founder and head trainer of Expertise Centrum ACT. Roy Thewissen, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and behavioural therapist. He works as a freelancer and in the pain department at Adelante rehabilitation clinic in the Netherlands.

Review :
‘The authors of this book are well known ACT therapists, trainers and researchers, in the Dutch community and some beyond. This English edition provides caregivers from other countries a chance to profit from their knowledge and experience. The book shows why clients do what they do, with clear analyses based on ACT and the relational frame theory. Through case descriptions with well-chosen interventions, it becomes clear how ACT can be a fluid process, closely linked to the client's experience. This approach gives ACT therapists the support and freedom they need, to find their own style in working with ACT.’ Jacqueline A-Tjak, PhD, clinical psychologist and peer reviewed ACT trainer, author of several books and articles on ACT ‘This book is unique amongst ACT books. Rather than present a set of interventions and metaphors in the form of a protocol, it helps readers relate their ACT practice to underlying processes rooted in Relational Frame Theory. This book will help you ground your clinical practice in basic processes, and increase your clinical mastery and effectiveness.’ Benjamin Schoendorff is a clinical psychologist and founder of the Contextual Psychology Institute in Montreal. He is peer-reviewed ACT trainer, certified FAP trainer and World Expert in PBBT. He has authored several books for clinicians and the general public. ‘If you're searching for a superb resource to bridge the realms of science and heart in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) while enriching your expertise and grasp of this intervention, then ACT with Head and Heart: Working Process-based with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is the ideal book for you. This book offers an inspirational exploration of ACT intertwined with fundamental behavioral principles. It expertly navigates readers through the practical application of ACT, harnessing the potency of experiential techniques and striving for genuine, transformative change. This book is essential for therapists dedicated to elevating their ACT practice.’ Robyn D. Walser, PhD, Author of The Heart of ACT, and co author of Learning ACT, 2nd Edition and The Mindful Couple, Assistant Professor University of California, Berkeley