A Process-Focused Guide to Treating Eating Disorders with ACT At some point in clinical practice, most therapists will encounter a client suffering with an eating disorder, but many are uncertain of how to treat these issues. Because eating disorders are rooted in secrecy and reinforced by our culture's dangerous obsession with thinness, sufferers are likely to experience significant health complications before they receive the help they need. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Eating Disorders presents a thorough conceptual foundation along with a complete protocol therapists can use to target the rigidity and perfectionism at the core of most eating disorders. Using this protocol, therapists can help clients overcome anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and other types of disordered eating. This professional guide offers a review of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) as a theoretical orientation and presents case conceptualizations that illuminate the ACT process. Then, it provides session-by-session guidance for training and tracking present-moment focus, cognitive defusion, experiential acceptance, transcendent self-awareness, chosen values, and committed action-the six behavioral components that underlie ACT and allow clients to radically change their relationship to food and to their bodies. Both clinicians who already use ACT in their practices and those who have no prior familiarity with this revolutionary approach will find this resource essential to the effective assessment and treatment of all types of eating disorders.

This is the first book to present a roadmap for tailoring acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to the serious, complex challenges of anorexia nervosa (AN). Leading authorities describe interventions grounded in ACT core processes--Defusion, Acceptance, Attention to the Present Moment, Self-Awareness, Values, and Committed Action. Guidance is provided for conducting functional assessments with adolescents and adults and working toward individualized treatment goals, starting with weight restoration. The book also discusses ways to engage parents and other family members in treatment. It features therapist scripts, sample dialogues, case examples, and reproducible forms and handouts. The large-size format facilitates photocopying; purchasers also get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials.

Despite ongoing criticism of strict beauty ideals, cosmetic surgeons and diet pill manufacturers continue to thrive and tolerance for body flaws seems to lessen every day. More and more people have begun to internalize a need for physical perfection. And the psychological distress that accompanies body image dissatisfaction leaves many individuals in a long-term struggle. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Body Image Dissatisfaction is a manual for practitioners seeking to help clients let go of self-judgment and preoccupation with body image. Mindfulness and acceptance approaches target the underlying anxiety and perfectionism that keep many trapped in destructive relationships with their bodies. This book presents a clear plan for showing clients how to clarify their values to help broaden their lives and refocus on what is most meaningful and vital to them. It presents a clear ACT protocol, complete with sample scripts, therapy exercises, case studies, and worksheets, for treating body image dissatisfaction. You'll learn from a wide range of clinical examples of body image dissatisfaction, some of which explore manifestations in medical populations. The treatment protocol in this book can be effectively applied to both men and women, across a wide age range.

If you have bulimia, you know what it's like to be locked in a battle with your body-and you know that whether you're trying to lose weight or struggling to end the bingeing and purging cycle, the same old fears and self-doubts keep coming back. The approach to moving beyond bulimia in The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Bulimia is different than other treatments you may have tried. Instead of encouraging you to avoid or fight against the conflicted feelings you have about food and your body, this workbook invites you to welcome and accept your deepest fears, learn to live with them, and put the things that are really important in your life first. Easier said than done? Definitely. But with this plan based in acceptance and commitment therapy, a proven-effective therapeutic solution to bulimia and other conditions, you'll develop the powerful psychological skills you need to move past bulimia and toward a more fulfilling way of life. The worksheets, exercises, and questionnaires in this book will help you: Determine the risks of continuing the bulimia cycle Identify the experiences and relationships that matter to you most Practice present-moment awareness Learn to accept your thoughts, feelings, and experiences as they come Recommit to living according to your deepest values

Metaphors and exercises play an incredibly important part in the successful delivery of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). These powerful tools go far in helping clients connect with their values and give them the motivation needed to make a real, conscious commitment to change. Unfortunately, many of the metaphors that clinicians use have become stale and ineffective. That’s why you need fresh, new resources for your professional library. In this breakthrough book, two ACT researchers provide an essential A-Z resource guide that includes tons of new metaphors and experiential exercises to help promote client acceptance, defusion from troubling thoughts, and values-based action. The book also includes scripts tailored to different client populations, and special metaphors and exercises that address unique problems that may sometimes arise in your therapy sessions. Several ACT texts and workbooks have been published for the treatment of a variety of psychological problems. However, no one resource exists where you can find an exhaustive list of metaphors and experiential exercises geared toward the six core elements of ACT. Whether you are treating a client with anxiety, depression, trauma, or an eating disorder, this book will provide you with the skills needed to improve lives, one exercise at a time. With a special foreword by ACT cofounder Steven C. Hayes, PhD, this book is a must-have for any ACT Practitioner.

Showcasing the very latest in the theory, research and practice of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) across a range of clinical applications, including eating disorders, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, PTSD and substance abuse, with contributions from leading ACT practitioners including co-founders Kirk Strosahl, Kelly Wilson and Rob Zettle. Chapters range from detailed treatments of the scientific and theoretical aspects of the ACT model and research program, to detailed discussions of how to apply ACT to a variety of human problems. Divided into two parts, the first section features theoretical treatments of ACT, with the second (and larger) section presenting extended descriptions of how to apply ACT in different contexts. This rich content mix reflects the strengths of the contextual behavioral science (CBS) research program espoused by Michael Levin and Steven Hayes from the University of Nevada. In the end, ACT is an applied treatment model, and as such, it lives and dies by its ability to effectively benefit a wide variety of clients. In order to make the treatment increasingly effective and to maximize understanding about precisely how the treatment works, its tenets must be theoretically coherent, firmly based on empirically tried and true principles, and must have its active psychological processes clearly identified and sufficiently assessed. This book clearly demonstrates such a mix of full application, an appreciation of basic-applied research linkage, clear and behaviorally-consistent conceptualization of specific problem areas, and coherent explication of the ACT model. This book will not only tell you what to do with clients struggling with various problems, it will also tell you how those things work.

Delivers a proven treatment model for clinicians in all orientations This unique, hands-on clinical guide examines the significant relationship between trauma, dissociation, and eating disorders and delivers a trauma-informed phase model that facilitates effective treatment of individuals with all forms of eating disorders. It describes, step-by-step, a four-phase treatment model encompassing team coordination, case formulation, and a trauma-informed, dissociation- and attachment-sensitive approach to treating eating disorders. Edited by noted specialists in eating and other behavioral health disorders, Trauma-Informed Approaches to Eating Disorders examines eating disorders from neurological, medical, nutritional, and psychological perspectives. Dedicated chapters address each treatment phase from a variety of orientations, ranging from EMDR and CBT to body-centered and creative therapies. The book also reveals the effectiveness of a multifaceted, phase model approach. Recognizing the potential pitfalls and traps of treatment and recovery, it also includes abundant psychoeducational tools for the client. KEY FEATURES: Examines eating disorders from neurological, medical, nutritional, and psychological perspectives Highlights the relationship between trauma, dissociation, and eating disorders Maps out a proven, trauma-informed, four-phase model for approaching trauma treatment in general and eating disorders specifically Elucidates the approach from the perspectives of EMDR therapy, ego state therapy, somatosensory therapy, trauma-focused CBT, and many others Provides abundant psychoeducational tools for the client to deal with triggers and setbacks Offers the knowledge and expertise of over 20 international researchers, medical professionals, and clinicians