ACT Therapists in Australia/NZ

[Guest guest]

Dear Nick,

I noted from your post… and a

trained ACT counsellor as well would be invaluable.

Russ has kindly been maintaining a “Find

an ACT Therapist” page on his www.actmindfully.com.au

website. I note from there the following ACT Therapists in Canberra.

Cartland, Curtin, ACT,

Costin, Canberra, ACT,

Ilona Nichterlein, Deakin, ACT,

Ingrid Wallace, Canberra, ACT,

JMA Psychology Canberra, Fyshwick, ACT,

lin, Canberra, ACT

The full details are available at http://www.actmindfully.com.au/directory.asp?state=ACT

I hope this proves helpful.

Best wishes,

Rob Purssey

Psychiatrist and ACT Therapist

New Farm and Currumbin,

Queensland.

From:

ACT_for_the_Public

[mailto:ACT_for_the_Public ]

On Behalf Of nhopkins208

Sent: Tuesday, 22 July 2008 9:21

AM

To: ACT_for_the_Public

Subject: Re:

Learning ACT is not a linear process

I know what you mean about books. When I think of all

the books I

have read in my life, it would make sense to choose the best 10 and

re-read them until I really integrate those messages. One of those

books would be The Happiness Trap by Russ . He acknowledges the

danger of just reading and doing the exercises once. He encourages

the reader to re-visit chapters all the time. I like his tone - it's

very supportive.

I try to re-visit my values at the end of each day by writing down my

activities for that day and then which of my previously identified

values each activity reflects. I am always surprised to see how

consistently my actions and my values are aligned. That surprise

alerts me to the fact that I am constantly belittling myself.

But still books and exercises are not enough, and a trained ACT

counsellor as well would be invaluable.

By the way what the hell does kvetch mean?

Nick

Canberra

Australia---

In ACT_for_the_Public ,

" Randy Burgess "

wrote:

>

> I've thought a bit further about why some of us (not all of us, by

> any means) get hung up sometimes when we learn ACT on our own - no

> therapist, just this or that workbook:

>

> The very form of a book fights the learning process necessary for

ACT

> (and probably for other kinds of skill acquisition). We

" know "

> intellectually that we can revisit chapters as necessary, redo

> exercises as necessary, etc.; and the authors often give us

permission

> to do this, in just so many words. Yet the structure of any book

> suggests a linear, once-through process - and we have been

conditioned

> by countless books to obey.

>

> I want to talk in particular about values, where this implicit

> structure of " turn the page, finish the chapter, get through the

book "

> can be especially problematic - or so I think, having kvetched in my

> time about values & listened to many others kvetch.

>

> Many ACT workbooks in fact present working on your values as as

a " one

> shot " process. That is, " do these exercises and you will find

out

your

> values and you will be done with that part of ACT and ready to move

on

> to commitments. " If there are no words to the contrary (and

generally

> there aren't) this is what we are likely to assume.

>

> For people who see their values as obvious, once-through is fine.

> Those of us with a clear view of both our pain and of how we want to

> move forward really don't need a values chapter to begin with. The

> exploration of " values " by that name wasn't even part of the

original

> version of ACT, back before it was called ACT.

>

> However, many of us do find some values work useful - for example,

if

> we are fused with lots and lots of barriers between ourselves & our

> pain, or if the domain involved (e.g. work) is difficult under the

> best of circumstances - grungy choices rife with ambiguous

tradeoffs,

> ill-defined risks, highly delayed and possibly bogus rewards, etc.

>

> The question is how to do the work so it helps rather than daunts or

> confuses.

>

> In my opinion, treating values in such situations as a " once through

> and done " process is likely to leave us with a head full of fusion

and

> a reluctance to actually move forward. As an experience, this can

> easily impede our progress with ACT.

>

> Question: what can we do when we realize this?

>

> Answer: we can treat our values work as just another opportunity for

> learning the gist of ACT - as just another way, perhaps a very

> fruitful way, to investigate and dismantle our control agenda one

> thought at a time, one emotion or memory at a time.

>

> In other words, rather than seek outcomes (the false problem of

values

> misinterpreted), we can seek learning (the only thing ACT can ever

> give us).

>

> Even " willingness " exercises like the Tin Can Monster can be

seen in

> this way. If we go deep in this sort of exercise, we can pull up all

> sorts of references to " how we ought to be, " all sorts of

" needs "

for

> particular outcomes, etc. - the sort of thing that often hooks us

when

> doing values work too.

>

> If we learn the knack of seeing through struggle and letting it go,

> real values may emerge - not because we get a gold star for

completing

> our values forms, but because we have seen through control enough

> times to recognize it when it occurs and disengage a tad more

easily.

> Whatever the context, whether it involves " values " by that name

or

not.

>

> It's like the difference between building a bike from a kit so that

we

> can " have a bike, " and building a bike from a kit so we can ride

to

> new places we couldn't reach before. The bike is a vehicle, not a

> destination. Learn to ride the bike.

>