An indispensable resource for mental health professionals, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma-Related Problems offers a practical and accessible yet theoretically complete approach to using the principles of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute trauma-related symptoms.

The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. - Zen saying While the pain and suffering of trauma can seem unbearable, every day we see examples of people who have found a way not only to survive their experiences but also to really live their life to the fullest. This book is about finding your way back to your valued life. In Finding Life Beyond Trauma we hope to help you to move toward living a vital, rich, and awake life.

“Trauma-Focused ACT is going to go down as one of the great contributions to the field of trauma-informed care.” —Kirk Strosahl PhD, cofounder of ACT Trauma-Focused ACT (TFACT) provides a flexible, comprehensive model for treating the entire spectrum of trauma-related issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction, depression, anxiety disorders, moral injury, chronic pain, shame, suicidality, insomnia, complicated grief, attachment issues, sexual problems, and more. Written by internationally acclaimed ACT trainer, Russ Harris, this textbook is for practitioners at all levels of experience, and offers exclusive access to free downloadable resources—including scripts, videos, MP3s, handouts, and worksheets. Discover cutting-edge strategies for healing the past, living in the present, and building a new future. With this compassion-based, exposure-centered approach, you’ll learn how to help your clients: Find safety and security in their bodies Overcome hyperarousal and hypoarousal Break free from dissociation Shift from self-hatred to self-compassion Rapidly ground themselves and reengage in life Unhook from difficult cognitions and emotions Develop an integrated sense of self Resolve traumatic memories through flexible exposure Connect with and live by their values Experience post-traumatic growth

This volume brings together leading clinicians and researchers to present cognitive-behavioural approaches to treating PTSD and other trauma-related symptoms and disorders.

Acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT (pronounced as a word rather than letters), is an emerging psychotherapeutic technique first developed into a complete system in the book Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Steven Hayes, Kirk Strosahl, and Kelly Wilson. ACT marks what some call a third wave in behavior therapy. To understand what this means, it helps to know that the first wave refers to traditional behavior therapy, which works to replace harmful behaviors with constructive ones through a learning principle called conditioning. Cognitive therapy, the second wave of behavior therapy, seeks to change problem behaviors by changing the thoughts that cause and perpetuate them. In the third wave, behavior therapists have begun to explore traditionally nonclinical treatment techniques like acceptance, mindfulness, cognitive defusion, dialectics, values, spirituality, and relationship development. These therapies reexamine the causes and diagnoses of psychological problems, the treatment goals of psychotherapy, and even the definition of mental illness itself. ACT earns its place in the third wave by reevaluating the traditional assumptions and goals of psychotherapy. The theoretical literature on which ACT is based questions our basic understanding of mental illness. It argues that the static condition of even mentally healthy individuals is one of suffering and struggle, so our grounds for calling one behavior 'normal' and another 'disordered' are murky at best. Instead of focusing on diagnosis and symptom etiology as a foundation for treatment-a traditional approach that implies, at least on some level, that there is something 'wrong' with the client-ACT therapists begin treatment by encouraging the client to accept without judgment the circumstances of his or her life as they are. Then therapists guide clients through a process of identifying a set of core values. The focus of therapy thereafter is making short and long term commitments to act in ways that affirm and further this set of values. Generally, the issue of diagnosing and treating a specific mental illness is set aside; in therapy, healing comes as a result of living a value-driven life rather than controlling or eradicating a particular set of symptoms. Emerging therapies like ACT are absolutely the most current clinical techniques available to therapists. They are quickly becoming the focus of major clinical conferences, publications, and research. More importantly, these therapies represent an exciting advance in the treatment of mental illness and, therefore, a real opportunity to alleviate suffering and improve people's lives. Not surprisingly, many therapists are eager to include ACT in their practices. ACT is well supported by theoretical publications and clinical research; what it has lacked, until the publication of this book, is a practical guide showing therapists exactly how to put these powerful new techniques to work for their own clients. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anxiety Disorders adapts the principles of ACT into practical, step-by-step clinical methods that therapists can easily integrate into their practices. The book focuses on the broad class of anxiety disorders, the most common group of mental illnesses, which includes general anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Written with therapists in mind, this book is easy to navigate, allowing busy professionals to find the information they need when they need it. It includes detailed examples of individual therapy sessions as well as many worksheets and exercises, the very important 'homework' clients do at home to reinforce work they do in the office. The book comes with a CD-ROM that includes electronic versions of all of the worksheets in the book as well as PowerPoint and audio features that make learning and teaching these techniques easy and engagin

Professionals who work with patients and clients struggling with chronic pain will benefit from this values-based behavior change program for managing the effects of pain. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain addresses case formulation and clinical techniques for working with pain patients through a combination of practical instruction and a treatment scenario narrative that follows a patient through an ACT-based intervention. An invaluable resource for rehabilitation specialists, psychologists, physicians, nurses, and others.

Introducing the first self-help workbook for moral injury, featuring a powerful approach grounded in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help you heal in the midst of moral pain and connect with a deeper sense of meaning and purpose. If you’ve experienced, witnessed, or failed to prevent an act that violates your own deeply held values—such as harming someone in an automobile accident, or failing to save someone from a dangerous situation—you may suffer from moral injury, an enduring psychological and spiritual pain that is often accompanied by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, substance abuse, and other mental health conditions. In order to begin healing, you need to (re)connect with your values and what really matters to you as a human being. Written by a renowned team of PTSD and trauma professionals, this workbook can help. The Moral Injury Workbook is the first workbook of its kind to offer a powerful step-by-step program to help you move beyond moral pain. With this guide, you’ll learn to work through difficult thoughts, emotions, and spiritual troubles; (re)connect with your deeply held sense of self, values, or spiritual beliefs; and gain the psychological flexibility you need to begin healing and live a full and meaningful life. Links to downloadable worksheets for veterans and clinicians are also included. Whether you’ve experienced moral injury yourself, work in the field of mental health, or are a pastoral advisor seeking new ways to help facilitate moral healing, this workbook is an effective and much-needed resource.