The ACT Matrix: A New Approach to Building Psychological Flexibility Across Settings and Populations

If you are an ACT practitioner or mental health professional, this eagerly awaited resource is an essential addition to your professional library.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based therapy that has been successful in treating a variety of psychological issues, such anxiety, depression, substance abuse, trauma, eating disorders, and more. In contrast to other treatment options, ACT has proven extremely effective in helping clients who are stuck in unhealthy thought patterns by encouraging them align their values with their thoughts and actions. However, the ACT model is complex, and it's not always easy to use.

Traditionally, ACT is delivered with a focus around six core processes that are often referred to as the hexaflex: cognitive defusion, acceptance, contact with the present moment, observing the self, values, and committed action. Each of these core processes serves a specific function, but they are often made more complex than needed in both theory and in practice. So what if there was a way to simplify ACT in your sessions with clients?

Edited by clinical psychologists and popular ACT workshop leaders Kevin L. Polk and Benjamin Schoendorff, The ACT Matrix fuses the six core principles of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) into a simplified, easy-to-apply approach that focuses on client actions and behaviour as workable or unworkable, rather than good or bad. Most importantly, you'll learn how this innovative approach can be used to deliver ACT more effectively in a variety of settings and contexts, even when clients are resistant or unmotivated to participate.

This is the first book to utilise the ACT Matrix model, and it is a must-read for any ACT practitioner looking to streamline his or her therapeutic approach.

"I love the matrix. Sometimes you need a way of thinking about ACT that is so focused on what is critical and so simple that you cannot forget it. That's the matrix. The number of situations that call for it is stunning: as a tool for difficult clients; when you feel lost in therapy; for an elevator speech with a business person; to do a thirty-minute talk with a lay group; to guide a chat with a school principal; and on and on. This is the first book on the matrix and how to use it. Let me simplify it for you: Get it. Read it. Use it."
- Steven C. Hayes, cofounder of ACT and professor of psychology at the University of Nevada

"The matrix method of delivering ACT has experienced a rapid increase in popularity in the last few years. The ACT Matrix provides a simple, mindful framework for delivering ACT in a wide number of contexts, including areas involving emotional disorders, eating disorders, addiction, pain, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and pro-social behavior. It can be used in the clinic, in schools, in organizations, or any setting [where someone] would benefit from increased psychological flexibility and resilience. If you would like a quick, accessible way to learn and start practicing ACT, this book is for you."
- Joseph Ciarrochi, PhD, author of the best-selling teen book, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life for Teens