ACT, Positive Psychology and Coaching
October 1, 2008 - 10:36am — jerry murphy
Last weekend, I attended a conference on Coaching sponsored by Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital. 450 attendees and 150 who wanted to come. Everyone excited about the links to Positive Psychology. Participants wowed by Happiness Guru Tal Ben Shahar, and Art-of-Possibility Maestro Ben Zander, and others. Not a word about ACT.
Does anyone know of good articles about the ACT perspective on Positive Psychology and vice versa? Is anyone writing about the (potential) connection between ACT and executive coaching?
Thanks.
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ACT and Coaching
Frank Gardner and Zella Moore have written a great text - "The Psychology of Enhancing Human Performance - The Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) Approach" - Springer 2007. It is essentially ACT for this area. They firstly review the evidence, or lack thereof, for traditional "Psychological Skills Training" then outline their (ACT) model, and take you through every stage of the process - in their words:
Description
The MAC approach developed by connecting the more traditional scientific knowledge base on human performance and self-regulation to more contemporary (behavioral) findings to do with meta-cognitive processes, emotion regulation, and acceptance-based behavioral interventions. Written by the originators of the MAC model, this book will provide both the necessary theory, empirical background, and a structured step-by-step, easy-to-use protocol for the understanding, assessment, conceptualization, and enhancement of human performance.
It is a protocol that can be readily adapted for a wide variety of high-performing clientele--from athletes and business people, to sales people, professionals in a variety of fields, and emergency/military personnel. The material can be integrated by practicing clinicians as an adjunctive intervention strategy to help clients with specific performance problems. Numerous case examples, forms, handouts, in- and out-of-session assignments and activities, and verbatim client instructions are included.
I expect they and others are researching the effectiveness of this approach. As discussion from the Listserve flowed about this some months back, ACT/RFT is about basic behavioral processes, linked to basic principles, so should be potentially applicable to any area of human behavior. If you've familiarity with ACT, you'll see the model translated across very directly.
This text provides the nuts'n'bolts, as well as the basic theoretical rationale, relating to ACT and how to enhance human performance. It's the text Russ Harris refers to when workshopping this area, btw.
cheers, rob
ACT and Coaching
Hi Rob,
As coincidence would have it, I was reading this text this very morning! I actually got it at the Coaching Conference, but didn't read it until later. As you suggest, really good stuff. I think it does an excellent job of applying ACT and other acceptance-based approaches to coaching of all kinds.
I'm still left with my other question--the ascendancy and dominance of positive psychology in coaching and any articles that critique it from an ACT perspective. Would welcome citations.
Many thanks for your reply.
jerry
"Positive psychology" - check Listserve archives.
Hi Jerry,
This area was covered in some detail in a thread also a number of months ago. As is often the case, perhaps with another subject line! It was intriguing learning the different meanings and history of the phrase. Russ Harris was involved, and, um, a very knowledgeable academic bloke whose name escapes me just now educated us all greatly about the background. It spun off (I think) around an Eckhart Tolle thread, and discussion of 'branding'. I've just tried very quickly, and unsuccessfully, to search within the Listserve within this site - good luck with that!
It seems to me essentially a pop psychology / 'popularity within the media' phenomenon due to the 'positive', eg 'let's understand and cultivate happiness and contentment' tag which accompanies. This is likely GROSSLY simplified (and apologies for any unintended insult to the academic ground of the area). Of course the RFT / ACT mob reckon they're onto something toward these isssues - but in a cautious and not always sexily expressed way...
cheers, robp
Positive Psychology- Todd B Kashdan
Final comment on this thread.
The academic type bloke who kindly educated us all regarding the history of "Positive Psychology"
(and who I've likely inadvertently annoyed with my grossly simplifying comment - should he ever read it!)
Todd B. Kashdan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
George Mason University
Mail Stop 3F5
Fairfax, VA 22030
Office Phone: (703) 993-9486
Email: tkashdan@gmu.edu
Website: http://mason.gmu.edu/~tkashdan/
CV available at : http://mason.gmu.edu/~tkashdan/cv.pdf
Past editorial board - Journal of Positive Psychology (2005 - 2007)
Should be worth emailing on this issue - perhaps on the main Listserve?
cheers, rob.
ACT and coaching
Hi, Russ Harris here in Australia is doing work with ACT and coaching. Catharina
ACT and Coaching
Thanks, Catharina, for the heads up.
Jerry