Re: Re: intensive outpatient anxiety program using ACT

[Guest guest]

Ellis often talked about having a absorbing vital interest - somewhat similar to ACT's values.His emphasis were on using cogitative but he also had some emotive and behavior methods.  One example of behavior method for self acceptance is his shame attacking exercises.  I think there is a little more to REBT and CBT than what you are saying, Russ.

Ellis was a pragmatist - his definition of " rational belief " was in essence what worked for you - very much like in ACT.

 

There are definitely similarities and overlaps between those books and mine. For example, traditional CBT (Burns – Feeling Good) and REBT (Ellis – A Guide To Rational Living)  have a lot in common with ACT – in particular the emphasis on active goal-setting, and exposure to feared situations, the importance of unconditional self-acceptance, and the emphasis on increasing awareness of thought patterns and on reducing the impact of unhelpful thought patterns over behaviour.

 However, the differences are huge.

Ellis and Burns think you can reach unconditional self-acceptance simply through thinking logically and rationally about it. I don’t believe this is possible for most people (having tried it myself and with many, many clients in the days when I used to practice REBT and CBT, before I discovered ACT). In ACT, we develop this through self-compassion,  defusion form the conceptualised self, and accessing the space of the observing self.

Ellis and Burns think the best way to reduce the impact of unhelpful thought patterns over behaviour is to dispute and challenge them; in ACT, we defuse them.

Ellis and Burns do not even mention values, as far as I can recall. The closest they get to values, as far as I remember,  is when Ellis talks about ‘rational hedonism’ and Burns talks about ‘pleasure and mastery’ – but these concepts are, in my opinion, ‘poor cousins’ of the values work we do in ACT.

Ellis and Burns both talk about the importance of accepting anxiety and fear – but again they think you can get there by thinking about it logically or saying to yourself ‘I accept’; their concept of acceptance is very different to the ACT construct  that I like to call ‘expansion’.

 So yes, lots of similarities – but the differences are also pretty vast. (REBT is also, in my opinion, closer to ACT philosophically than traditional CBT is.)

All the best,Cheers,

Russ  www.actmindfully.com.au

www.thehappinesstrap.com

 From: ACT_for_the_Public [mailto:ACT_for_the_Public ] On Behalf Of

Sent: Tuesday, 23 August 2011 10:46 AMTo: ACT_for_the_Public Subject: Re: Re: intensive outpatient anxiety program using ACT

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  , if you want to sometime, I would love to hear about some of your breakthroughs, even just one of them. The program sounds wonderful. I've been thinking lately that if I just had a little , Russ, or sitting on my shoulder I could really make quick progress.!HA! Sound like you had something kinda like that with this program.

>> > hey terry:-)> firstly i apologize for the late reply. With ramadan, and fasting and my 2 little rascals keeping me on my toes, i am not able to come online too much these days.> > below the info about the program. it is in chicago, il. i don't live in chicago, but this was the 2nd time i went there in summer , just to be able to enroll in that program.

> > I have gone through therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists which much despair, then finally last year i found this program, it had newly started so i was expremely fortunate to have Dr. M. Joann (the director of the program) be my therapist, as well as one of the therapist leading the daily sessions.

> > just to give u a summmary about myself, i am a muslim woman, who wears a head scarf and have been the victim of racial attacks, hence have suffered from social anxiety,social phobia, agouraphobia, for almost 9 yrs...like i meantined , i went through several therapists here where i reside, had some bad expereinces as well, when i would mention how i develepoed the anxiety , i had a couple who would start lecturing me about why they felt whatever political debate was going on at that time, muslims were wrong in their stance, which i belive had nothing to do with me, as i was simply desperatly seeking therapy for my probelm , and not there to debate religion or politics. I also had a couple comments like " atleast u should be happy u don't wear a burka, or atleast u r not afghani " which once again, i am not quite sure what that means, as i do have all kinds of freinds from dif countries and they r just like me, hence not terrorists. but anyways i don't wanna get i nto too much detail, as ur question is very specific:-)

> > but when i joined the program last year, if it wasn't for dr.Joaann wright , and her genuinly warm, loving and caring personality, i would have had a very tough time just to be able to be in a room full of americans, coz i truly feared them. Joann changed my life around, and i havta say from mine and my freinds experencies, u don't c many psychologists/therapist around that have this gift of being able to bond with pateints like that, and having such an impact on their their life and their recovery..I would witness miracles there last year..people with the worst of agouraphobia, anxiety, depression would come in , and in 3 weeks the transformation was amazing. And apart from the fact that the program they had there used ACT and all of dr. steven hayes exercises and tons of worksheets and exercises and take home hw, i very sotrngly belive that the sucesss also had a lot to do with Joann.

> > now to give u some nitty gritty details about the program> here's tthe link :-> > > > http://www.edward.org/body.cfm?id=1481

> > > > it's a 4 week long program. runs everyday for 3 1/2 hrs a day.> 2 therapsist run it everyday. Joann is not in the program running it anymore, she oversees it though, but the other therapist r excellent too..once a week we have a 1 hr discussion with Dr. Prinz , a psychiatrist...he's amazing. he talks about all the meds and getz into details about how they work for what disorders. amazing, very imformative, plus he's an awesome guy. Once a week each patent also getz one on one 1/2 hr appts with the therapist they r assigned to. all btw highly trained in ACT, and amazing. There a full time nurse there , she's the best, and she works with u with any help or concerns u have throught ur 4 weeks there...also once a week every patent getz a one on one with an assigned psychiatrists to discuss their progress and what all medications they were on and monitor their dosage.

> > and like i mentioned, it's all ACT and it's in a group setting. however each person getz ample time everyday to adreess their issues. and the best part is it is very well structured. its not just random talking about how ur day went..it's based on in claass worksheets and assigments u do and take home assignments u do. they use a lotta dr. steven hayes books and ruth harris books etc. on ACT for exercises.

> > BUT like i mentioned b4, i have never been a reader, but whatever knowledge i have about ACT is all from the therpay. PLUS i have had some huge breakthroughts, if i mention those that will take up another 5 paras, but they have been all becoz of ACT and from Joann's anxiety program and all the people (therapsist/psyciatrists etc) there who make it work. hope this helps:-)

> wasalaam> > > > ADULT ANXIETY IOP> 1250 North Mill Street, Naperville, > >

> M. Joann , PhD.> http://www.edward.org/body.cfm?id=1481> www.psychologicalsolutionsinstitute.com

>