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ACT Books: Self Help

Self-Help and Life Enhancement Resources

Please note that not all ACT self help books have been specifically empirically validated. A list of such studies is here and you can search for additional RCT studies here.

The World Health Organization also distributes an extensively validated free ACT self-help book Doing What Matters in Times of Stress: An Illustrated Guide and audio recordings to go with it: https://www.who.int/publications-detail/9789240003927


(The following list of books is from the LEARNING ACT RESOURCE GUIDE: The complete guide to resources for learning Acceptance & Commitment Therapy by Jason Luoma, Ph.D. Updated July 2020 learningact.com)

The following list only includes ACT self help books in English. Click here for the list of books in 20+ languages.

Self-Help, Self-Improvement, and Skills Workbooks

ACT SELF HELP BOOKS
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Principles of Becoming More Flexible, Effective, and Fulfilled
  • The ACT Deck: 55 Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Practices to Build Connection, Find Focus and Reduce Stress
  • ACTivate Your Life: Using acceptance and mindfulness to build a life that is rich, fulfilling and fun
  • Break Free: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in 3 Steps: A Workbook for Overcoming Self-Doubt and Embracing Life
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Guide to Self-Empowerment with CBT, DBT, and ACT: How to Build Brain Strength and Reshape Your Life with Behavioral Therapy
  • The Courage Habit: How to Accept Your Fears, Release the Past, and Live Your Courageous Life
  • The Diet Trap: Feed Your Psychological Needs and End the Weight Loss Struggle Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
  • Escaping the Emotional Roller Coaster: ACT for the emotionally sensitive
  • Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
  • Get the Life You Want: Finding Meaning and Fulfillment through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
  • The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living
  • How to Be Nice to Yourself: The Everyday Guide to Self Compassion: Effective Strategies to Increase Self-Love and Acceptance
  • The Illustrated Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living
  • Learning to Thrive: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Workbook
  • The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Self Esteem
  • The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Stress Reduction: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Manage Stress, Build Resilience, and Create the Life You Want (A New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook)
  • The Power of Small: Making Tiny Changes When Everything Feels Too Much
  • Reclaim Your Life: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in 7 Weeks
  • Sex ACT: Unleash the Power of Your Sexual Mind with Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
  • Stress Less, Live More: How Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Can Help You Live a Busy yet Balanced Life
  • Therapy Quest: An Interactive Journey Through Acceptance And Commitment Therapy
  • Your Life on Purpose: How to Find What Matters and Create the Life You Want

Self Help Books for Specific Populations

ANGER
  • Act on Life Not on Anger: The New Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Guide to Problem Anger
  • The Moral Injury Workbook: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Skills for Moving Beyond Shame, Anger, and Trauma to Reclaim Your Values
ANXIETY
  • The ACT on Anxiety Workbook
  • The ACT Workbook for OCD: Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Exposure Skills to Live Well with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
  • Anxiety Happens: 52 Ways to Find Peace of Mind
  • Be Mighty: A Woman’s Guide to Liberation from Anxiety, Worry, and Stress Using Mindfulness and Acceptance
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: How to Use CBT to Overcome Anxiety, Depression and Intrusive Thoughts + A Guide to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and ACT Techniques
  • The Confidence Gap: A Guide to Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt
  • In This Moment: Five Steps to Transcending Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroscience
  • Let Go of Anxiety: Climb Life’s Mountains with Peace, Purpose, and Resilience
  • Living Beyond OCD Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A Workbook for Adults
  • The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety: A Guide to Breaking Free from Anxiety, Phobias, and Worry Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (2nd Edition)
  • The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Social Anxiety and Shyness: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Free Yourself from Fear and Reclaim Your Life
  • Outsmart Your Anxious Brain: Ten Simple Ways to Beat the Worry Trick
  • Social Courage: Coping and thriving with the reality of social anxiety
  • Ten Little Ways to Beat the Worry Trick: Outsmart Anxiety, Fear, and Panic
  • Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong: A Guide to Life Liberated from Anxiety
  • Trichotillomania: An ACT-Enhanced Behavior Therapy Approach Workbook (Treatments That Work)
  • The Worry Trap: How to Free Yourself from Worry & Anxiety Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
CANCER
  • Flying over Thunderstorms: Living Your Life with Cancer through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
CHILDREN/ADOLESCENTS/PARENTING
  • Acceptance and Mindfulness Toolbox for Children and Adolescents: 75+ Worksheets & Activities for Trauma, Anxiety, Depression, Anger & More
  • The ACT Workbook for Teens with OCD
  • Becoming Mum
  • Dark Agents, Book One: Violet and the Trial of Trauma
  • Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life for Teens: A Guide to Living an Extraordinary Life
  • The Gifted Kids Workbook: Mindfulness Skills to Help Children Reduce Stress, Balance Emotions, and Build Confidence
  • The Joy of Parenting: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Guide to Effective Parenting in the Early Years
  • The Mental Health and Wellbeing Workout for Teens: Skills and Exercises from ACT and CBT for Healthy Thinking
  • The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Teen Anxiety: Activities to Help You Overcome Fears and Worries Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Instant Help Book for Teens)
  • Nuna and the Fog
  • Parenting a Troubled Teen: Manage Conflict and Deal with Intense Emotions Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
  • Parenting Your Anxious Child with Mindfulness and Acceptance: A Powerful New Approach to Overcoming Fear, Panic, and Worry Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
  • Stuff That Sucks: Accepting What You Can’t Change and Committing to What You Can
DEPRESSION
  • The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Move Through
  • Depression and Create a Life Worth Living (2nd Edition)
EATING DISORDERS/BODY IMAGE
  • The Anorexia Workbook: How to Accept Yourself, Heal Your Suffering, and Reclaim Your Life
  • Living with Your Body and Other Things You Hate: How to Let Go of Your Struggle with Body Image Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
HEALTH/CHRONIC PAIN/INTEGRATED CARE
  • Better Living With IBS: A step-by-step program to managing your symptoms so you can enjoy life to the full!
  • The Diabetes Lifestyle Book
  • End the Insomnia Struggle: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Get to Sleep and Stay Asleep
  • Living Beyond Lyme: Reclaim Your Life From Lyme Disease and Chronic Illness
  • Living Beyond Your Pain: Using Acceptance & Commitment Therapy to Ease Chronic Pain
INTERPERSONAL/RELATIONSHIP ISSUES
  • ACT with Love: Stop Struggling, Reconcile Differences, and Strengthen Your Relationship with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
  • The Mindful Couple: How Acceptance and Mindfulness Can Lead You to the Love You Want
LOSS/GRIEF
  • The Reality Slap: Finding Peace and Fulfillment When Life Hurts
SPORTS/HUMAN PERFORMANCE
  • The Psychology of Enhancing Human Performance: The Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment Approach
  • The Winner’s Mind: Strengthening Mental Skills in Athletes
SUBSTANCE ABUSE/ADDICTION
  • Power Over Addiction: A Harm Reduction Workbook for Changing Your Relationship with Drugs
  • The Wisdom to Know the Difference: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Workbook for Overcoming Substance Abuse
TRAUMA/PTSD
  • Dark Agents, Book One: Violet and the Trial of Trauma
  • Finding Life Beyond Trauma: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Heal from Post-Traumatic Stress and Trauma-Related Problems
  • The PTSD Survival Guide for Teens: Strategies to Overcome Trauma, Build Resilience, and Take Back Your Life (The Instant Help Solutions Series

MORE ACT BOOKS

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