Life is often busy, demanding and full of challenges that can cause us to lose sight of what really matters. The Diary for Valued Action is designed to help individuals move towards the things in life that are most important to them. Based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), it puts values centre-stage where they can best guide actions and decisions. It is especially helpful for those engaged in ACT; however, the principles are relevant to anyone seeking to build psychological flexibility the ability to connect fully with experiences, including difficult thoughts and feelings, and pursue an authentic life. Weekly short, accessible pieces by the authors discuss aspects of psychological flexibility, present helpful metaphors and suggest exercises to identify core values, clarify issues and record goals; while reflection spaces offer regular opportunities to record thoughts, identify barriers and track progress.
Authors' Welcome
What Do You Want?
An Introduction to Values
Valued Domains
Smart Goals
Values List
Exploring Domains
Managing Thoughts and Feelings
What Is Willingness?
Metaphor: The Unwelcome Guest
What Is Defusion?
Exercise: Having the Thought
What is Contacting the Present Moment?
Exercise: Breathing
What is Self-as-Context?
Metaphor: The Sky and the Weather
What is the Hexaflex?
Exercise: Writing a Eulogy
Introducing Self-Compassion
Exercise: Helping a Child
Personal Values Statement
Introducing Experiential Avoidance
Exercise: The White Bear
Experiential Avoidance: A Crucial Side Effect
Metaphor: A Ball in the Water
Giving You the Reins
Metaphor: Quicksand
Metaphor: Tug of War with a Monster
Exercise: Leaves on a Stream
Metaphor: Hands as Thoughts
Exercise: Body Scan
Exercise: Walking
Exercise: Fusion with Evaluations
Exercise: Taking Off Your Armour
Exercise: Heroes
Exercise: Waiting for the Wrong Train
Bringing It All Together: Passengers on the Bus
Ending the Year
Nic Hooper is Lecturer in Psychology at the University of the West of England (UWE). He previously spent two years teaching at Middle East Technical University in Northern Cyprus. He has written a number of articles and book chapters, and is lead author of The Research Journey of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (2015). From 2015-17 he sat on the board of the 8,000-member Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS), which governs much work in ACT and related areas.
Freddy Jackson Brown is a registered and chartered clinical psychologist with twenty years' experience working with children and families in the NHS. He has published a range of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on ACT, behaviour analysis, disability and sexuality, and is the author of Get the Life You Want (2013) and ACT for Dummies (2016).
