A Contextual Behavioral Guide to the Self
On sale
28th March 2019
Price: £40
Selected:
Paperback / ISBN-13: 9781626251762
The self plays an integral role in human motivation, cognition, and social identity. A must-have addition to any acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) practitioner’s library, The Self in Practice translates the ACT model’s most difficult-yet essential-process into easy-to-apply steps and user-friendly language.
Every client who partakes in ACT must identify a self as part of their treatment, and clinicians often report that observing the self is the most difficult of all six core ACT processes. This is because it’s so hard for people to shed preconceived notions of “who they really are,” and negative perceptions of the self can lead to feelings of low self-worth that stand in the way of treatment.
Problems with the self arise when clients orient themselves in the world and learn to relate to others, but these problems can vary considerably. For example, some clients may have deficits in developing a strong sense of self in the first place-particularly if they are diagnosed with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). Depressed clients or those with borderline personality disorder (BPD) may develop a skewed, negative sense of self, and those with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) may develop an inflated sense of self.
With this unique road map, you will learn to apply the complex theory of the self into everyday practice, and help all clients develop empathy, compassion, and flexible perspective taking-leading to better treatment outcomes and better lives for clients.
Every client who partakes in ACT must identify a self as part of their treatment, and clinicians often report that observing the self is the most difficult of all six core ACT processes. This is because it’s so hard for people to shed preconceived notions of “who they really are,” and negative perceptions of the self can lead to feelings of low self-worth that stand in the way of treatment.
Problems with the self arise when clients orient themselves in the world and learn to relate to others, but these problems can vary considerably. For example, some clients may have deficits in developing a strong sense of self in the first place-particularly if they are diagnosed with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). Depressed clients or those with borderline personality disorder (BPD) may develop a skewed, negative sense of self, and those with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) may develop an inflated sense of self.
With this unique road map, you will learn to apply the complex theory of the self into everyday practice, and help all clients develop empathy, compassion, and flexible perspective taking-leading to better treatment outcomes and better lives for clients.
Reviews
"This is a truly remarkable book. The authors use their thorough knowledge of the complex phenomenon of 'the self,' and work themselves all the way from basic science up to practical, clinical recommendations for psychological treatment. An important read for researchers and clinicians alike." —Niklas Törneke, MD, author of Learning RFT and Metaphor in Practice
"A Contextual Behavioral Guide to the Self is a gold mine of information that can empower both your knowledge and practice. The book is a masterful guide to some of our most advanced research on 'self' experience. I would recommend this to anyone seeking to deepen their ACT practice, or their understanding of what it is to be human, and to have 'a self.'" —Dennis Tirch, PhD, founder of The Center for Compassion Focused Therapy, associate clinical professor at Mount Sinai, and coauthor of The ACT Practitioner's Guide to the Science of Compassion
"It is rare to find a good book on the 'self,' much less any book on the self, that provides a crystal clear picture of what we mean by the self. A Contextual Behavioral Guide to the Self creates a marvelous balance between cutting-edge science and practical clinical applications to help the practicing clinician effectively intervene with a variety of self-related problems. The writing is exceptionally clear and the clinical examples make important points seem easy to grasp. Getting a handle on what exactly we mean by 'self' and how to work to improve self-related functioning has been a serious, long-term challenge in clinical psychology. This book moves us forward in a major way. Highly recommended!" —Kirk Strosahl, PhD, cofounder of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and coauthor of Inside This Moment