Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is changing the practice of psychotherapy for the better, offering a treatment model that promises great effectiveness to a staggeringly wide range of psychological problems. Therapists are turning in large numbers to this exciting new model, and they need solid, reliable treatment information to bring to their clients. This book, written by two noted experts in the treatment of trauma-related problems who have worked for the Veterans Administration, is the first to apply these powerful principles to the treatment of both acute trauma and post-traumatic stress conditions. The book's first section gives an overview of trauma and the nature of experiential avoidance-a central problem according to the ACT model. The book explains and defines the nature of experiential avoidance, the costs of non-acceptance, experiential avoidance and PTSD, and ACT alternatives to avoidance problems. The book's second section offer practical, step-by-step clinical advice that therapists can quickly and easily integrate into their practices. By using the therapeutic techniques that work best for them and their clients, readers will be able to make their own contribution to the rapidly expanding body of psychology that is ACT. An indispensable resource for mental health professionals, this book 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.

Robyn D. Walser, Ph.D., is a psychologist with the National Center for PTSD at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System. She also works as a consultant, workshop presenter, and therapist in her private business, TLConsultation Services. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno. During her graduate studies, she developed expertise in traumatic stress, substance abuse, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). She has been doing ACT workshop trainings, both nationally and internationally, since 1998, training in multiple formats and for multiple client problems. Darrah Westrup, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist with the National Center for PTSD at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. She serves as attending psychologist at the Women's Trauma Recovery Program, a ten-bed, sixty-day residential treatment program for women veterans with military-related PTSD. She is also program director of the Outpatient Women's Mental Health Center. Westrup received her graduate degree from West Virginia University, and completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the Behavioral Medicine Department at Stanford University. She has clinical and research expertise in the areas of PTSD, substance abuse, stalking behavior, and experiential avoidance as it relates to psychological dysfunction.Foreword writer Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., is University of Nevada Foundation Professor of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Relational Frame Theory.

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