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From leading acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) practitioners, this experiential training workbook invites therapists to broaden and strengthen their ACT skills through deep engagement with ACT theory and techniques. Everyone from beginning therapists to seasoned ACT practitioners can enhance their work through self-practice/self-reflection (SP/SR), a cutting-edge, evidence-based training method. Through a systematic process, readers learn how to effectively apply ACT to a personal or professional challenge and reflect on the experience. Fifteen step-by-step modules are illustrated with vivid examples from the authors' own SP/SR journeys. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes 17 reproducible worksheets and over 3 hours of audio exercises. Purchasers get access to a companion website where they can download the audio exercises as well as printable copies of the worksheets. "The deep message of this book is that therapists are human beings too. Like our clients, we therapists thrive when we are better able to think freely, feel fully, and focus on bringing meaning and purpose into our lives. This book shows how ACT can be used to guide that journey. Instead of just 'talking the talk,' this book asks us as clinicians to 'walk the walk'--to apply the change processes targeted by ACT to challenges we face. Increasing our psychological flexibility is important not just for ourselves, but also for our clients."--Steven C. Hayes, PhD, co-developer of ACT; Foundation Professor of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno


"Thoughtfully structured, the book immerses readers in experiential learning, which is essential to competent and skilled use of ACT. Numerous exercises for clinicians to try 'from the inside out' are coupled with gentle and wise guidance from the authors. This book is a 'must have' for clinicians and clinical training programs interested in making a profound difference in the lives of those they serve."--Lisa W. Coyne, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School


"ACT therapists strive to intentionally and open-heartedly contact the pain, challenge, and joy that characterize mindful, values-consistent living. Cultivating this stance--an essential ACT competency--is both deeply transformational and challenging. Experiencing ACT from the Inside Out provides a roadmap for novice ACT therapists, seasoned practitioners hoping to deepen their practice, and experienced trainers guiding new therapists in their development. Informed by the growing research demonstrating the benefits of SP/SR on therapist skills, and their personal experiences as ACT therapists and trainers, the authors have produced a much-needed guide that students, clinicians, and educators will find invaluable."--Susan M. Orsillo, PhD, Department of Psychology, Suffolk University


"I recommend this compassionate, thoughtful book to all psychotherapists interested in developing their ACT clinical skills. As an experiential and process-based intervention, ACT is not simply taught to clients, it is shared with them. This kind of shared relating requires the clinician not only to understand theory and technique, but to be fully present and alive in deeply personal therapeutic interactions. SP/SR is a superb method for doing the kind of personal work needed to embody ACT--to support clients in creating personal meaning and making values-based change."--Robyn D. Walser, PhD, private training, consultation, and psychotherapy practice, Menlo Park, California; Co-Director, Bay Area Trauma Recovery Clinic


"Self-reflection is a vital part of effectively using acceptance-based strategies in clinical practice. In this engaging, practice-based workbook, expert ACT clinicians provide an in-depth exploration of the approach. Both novice and experienced clinicians will benefit from the many exercises and the vulnerable, human examples provided by the authors."--Lizabeth Roemer, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston

Experiencing ACT from the Inside Out: A Self-Practice/Self-Reflection Workbook for Therapists

I. The ACT SP/SR Approach

1. Introducing Experiencing ACT from the Inside Out

2. The Conceptual Framework

3. Guidance for Participants

4. Guidance for Facilitators

II. The ACT SP/SR Program

Section A: Facing the Challenge

Module 1. Identifying and Formulating a Challenging Problem

Module 2. ACT SP/SR Challenge Formulation

Module 3. The Psychological Flexibility Model

Module 4. The ACT Matrix

Section B: Centered

Module 5. Contacting the Present Moment

Module 6. Self-as-Context

Module 7. Flexible Perspective Taking

Section C: Open

Module 8. Defusion

Module 9. Acceptance

Section D: Engaged

Module 10. Values Authorship

Module 11. Commitment, Part I: Determining Goals and Barriers to Commitment

Module 12. Commitment, Part II: Cultivating Our Ability to Engage

Section E: Compassionate

Module 13. ACT and Compassion

Module 14. Compassion and Empathic Distress Fatigue

Module 15. Maintaining and Enhancing the Cultivation of Psychological Flexibility





Audio Downloads

1. Centering [Chapter 3] 6:11

2. Self-Practice with Acceptance [Module 3] 8:19

3. Self-Practice Contacting the Present Moment [Module 3] 6:31

4. Self-Practice with Self-as-Context [Module 3] 10:27

5. Self-Practice with Values Authorship [Module 3] 10:59

6. Self-Practice with Committed Action [Module 3] 7:54

7. Contacting Present-Moment Experience in ACT SP/SR [Module 5] 14:04

8. The Ocean of Being [Module 6] 22:00

9. Time Travel [Module 7] 11:28

10. Externalizing the Thought [Module 8] 8:06

11. Dropping the Rope: Letting Go of the Tug-of-War with Our Private Events [Module 9] 14:20

12. What Do I Want My Life to Stand For? [Module 10] 14:28

13. Exposure [Module 12] 21:32

14. Practicing MCA [Module 13] 15:00

15. Compassion Circulation [Module 14] 9:36