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Non-Empirical Readings

July 19, 2005 - 2:49pm — Steven Hayes

The non-empirical literature on ACT / RFT (we are listing primarily ACT work here) is large. We will start first with books, and then proceed to articles.

In order to make this list easy to update it is listed by year but do note that this puts some of the important books in the middle.

Books

  • Eifert, G., & Forsyth, J. (2005). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for anxiety disorders. Oakland: New Harbinger.
    Good introduction to ACT and the only book so far that focuses on ACT for anxiety. Contains a cool protocol that shows how to mix ACT processes from various points on the "hexaflex" into a brief therapy model for anxiety disorders. Probably the third "must have" for ACT clinicians, after the ACT 1999 book and the 2004 Practical Guide.
  • Hayes, S. C., & Smith, S. (2005). Get out of your mind and into your life. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
    A general purpose ACT book for the public. This book seems to supercharge ACT clinical work when used as homework -- very easy to use as an aid to almost any course of ACT treatment. Also designed to be useful on its own. Send Mom a copy and she will understand what the heck you are talking about.
  • Hayes, S. C., & Strosahl, K. D. (2004). A Practical Guide to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. New York: Springer-Verlag.
    This is another “must have” for ACT clinicians. Shows how to do ACT with a variety of populations. Until the panopy of speciality ACT books arrive (they are coming) this is one that any ACT clinican needs.
  • Hayes, S. C., Follette, V. M., & Linehan, M. M. (Eds.). (2004). Mindfulness and Acceptance: Expanding the Cognitive-Behavioral Tradition. New York: Guilford Press.
    Meet most of the major approaches in the third wave. Shows that ACt is not alone. Lots of good ideas for expanding your clinical work inside a third wave model.
  • Heffner, M., & Eifert, G. H. (2004). The anorexia workbook: How to accept yourself, heal suffering, and reclaim your life. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
    An eating disorders patient workbook on ACT. Can be tweaked to be useful with other problems.
  • Hayes, S. C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Roche, B. (Eds.). (2001). Relational Frame Theory: A Post-Skinnerian account of human language and cognition. New York: Plenum Press.
    This book (combined with more general behavioral principles) is the theoretical foundation of ACT. Usually not a good place to start, but sooner or later -- like a moth to a flame -- if you are an ACT clinician you will want to know RFT. Once you understand it language will never look the same and ACT will begin to seem much more coherent to you. Suggestion: do the RFT tutorial on the website first. If you still want to read this book, then read from chapters 1 to 8, not stopping when you do not understand. Then pause and re-read Chapter 8. Then re-read Chapters 1 - 8, and now you can stop and try to figure out what you do not understand. If you then feel as though you are beginning to get it, read the read of the book.
  • Dougher, M. J. (2000) (Ed.) Clinical Behavior Analysis. Reno, NV: Context Press.
    Situates ACT, RFT, Behavioral Activation, and other approaches in clinical behavior analysis. That is where this stuff is coming from.
  • Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change. New York: Guilford Press.
    This is the ACT bible at the moment. One of the first books to read if you are interested in ACT.
  • Biglan, A. (1995). Changing culture practices: A contextualistic framework for intervention research. Reno, NV: Context Press.
    This is not really a book on ACT, but it regularly mentions ACT and RFT and it begins to show how you might scale these issues to the level of cultural practices. If the ACT model is right, we either alter the prevalence of psychological inflexibility or we fail to help the human condition. You can do that one at a time, or in formal prevention efforts, but either way it is the same bottom line. No change in prevalence = failure. So we need to think about how to measure this and approach this wisely throughout the work we are doing.
  • Hayes, S. C. (Ed.). (1989/2004). Rule governed behavior: Cognition, contingencies, and instructional control. New York: Plenum / reprinted in 2004 by Context Press.
    The first full-length presentation of the ACT / RFT model are the three chapters in this book on the topic. This book is now available in paperback from Context Press.

Articles

  • Hayes, S. C. (2004). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Relational Frame Theory, and the third wave of behavioral and cognitive therapies. Behavior Therapy, 35, 639-665.
    Makes the case that ACT is part of a larger shift in the behavioral and cognitive therapies toward more contextual approaches
  • Hayes, S. C., Wilson, K. G., Gifford, E. V., Follette, V. M., & Strosahl, K. (1996). Emotional avoidance and behavioral disorders: A functional dimensional approach to diagnosis and treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 1152-1168.
    This reviews the data relevant to the ACT approach to psychopathology. Getting old, but still is quite relevant.
  • Hayes, S. C., Pankey, J., & Gregg, J. (2002). Anxiety and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. In E. A. Gosch & R. A. DiTomasso (Eds.), Comparative treatments of anxiety disorders (pp. 110-136). New York: Springer. Decent clinical chapter.
  • Hayes, S. C. & Wilson, K. G. (1993). Some applied implications of a contemporary behavior-analytic account of verbal events. The Behavior Analyst, 16, 283-301.
    An entry into RFT and its implications … but the RFT book is now better.
  • Hayes, S. C., & Wilson, K.G. (1994). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Altering the verbal support for experiential avoidance. The Behavior Analyst, 17, 289-303.
    An entry into ACT and its implications … but the ACT book is now better.
  • Hayes, S. C., & Gregg, J. (2001). Functional contextualism and the self. In C. Muran (Ed.), Self-relations in the psychotherapy process (pp. 291-307). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
    Deals with the self issue.
  • Kohlenberg, B., Hayes, S. C., & Tsai, M. (1993). Behavior analytic psychotherapy: Two contemporary examples. Clinical Psychology Review, 13, 579-592.
    A quick and dirty description. Useful to give to others if they know nothing.

Fletcher, L. & Hayes, S. C. (in press). Relational Frame Theory, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and a functional analytic definition of mindfulness. Journal of Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Bach, P. A., Gaudiano, B. A., Pankey, J., Herbert, J. D., & Hayes, S. C. (in press). Acceptance, mindfulness, values, and psychosis: Applying ACT to the chronically mentally ill. In R. Baer (Ed.), Mindfulness-based interventions: A clinician’s guide. San Diego: Elsevier.

Twohig, M., Pierson, H. M., & Hayes, S. C. (in press; 2005 expected). Homework in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Chapter to appear in Kazantzis, N. & L'Abate, L. (Eds.), Handbook of homework assignments in psychotherapy: Research, practice, and prevention. New York: Springer.

Twohig, M. P., Masuda, A., Varra, A. A., & Hayes, S. C. (in press). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a treatment for anxiety disorders. In S. M. Orsillo and L. Roemer (Eds.), Acceptance and mindfulness-based approaches to anxiety: Conceptualization and treatment. New York: Kluwer/Springer-Verlag.

Hayes, S. C. (in press). Language, self, and diversity. In J. C. Muran (Ed.). Dialogues on difference: Diversity studies of the therapeutic relationship. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Shenk, C., Masuda, A., Bunting, K., & Hayes, S. C. (in press). The psychological processes underlying mindfulness: Exploring the link between Buddhism and modern contextual behavioral psychology. In D. K. Nauriyal (Ed.), Buddhist thought and applied psychology: Transcending the boundaries. London: Routledge-Curzon.

Walser, R. D. & Hayes, S. C. (in press). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and trauma survivors. In V. Follette (Ed.), Trauma in context: A cognitive behavioral approach to trauma, Second Ed. New York: Guilford Press.

Hayes, S. C. (in press). Stability and change in cognitive behavior therapy: Considering the implications of ACT and RFT. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Therapy.

Twohig, M. P. & Hayes, S. C. (in press). Implications of verbal processes for childhood disorders: Tourette’s disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism. In D. Woods (Ed.), Behavior disorders. Context Press.

Twohig, M. P., Moran, D, J., & Hayes, S. C. (in press). A functional contextual account of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. In D. Woods (Ed.), Behavior disorders. Context Press.

Hayes, S. C. (2004). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the new behavior therapies: Mindfulness, acceptance and relationship. In S. C. Hayes, V. M. Follette, & M. Linehan (Eds.), Mindfulness and acceptance: Expanding the cognitive behavioral tradition (pp. 1-29). New York: Guilford.

Hayes, S. C. & Shenk, C. (2004).Operationalizing mindfulness without unnecessary attachments. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11, 249-254.

Pankey, J. & Hayes, S. C. (2003). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for psychosis. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 3, 311-328.

Hayes, S. C., Masuda, A., & De Mey, H. (2003). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the third wave of behavior therapy (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: een derde-generatie gedragstherapie). Gedragstherapie (Dutch Journal of Behavior Therapy), 2, 69-96.

Hayes, S. C. & Wilson, K. G. (2003). Mindfulness: Method and process. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 161-165.

Hayes, S. C., Niccolls, R., Masuda, A., & Rye, A. K. (2002). Prejudice, terrorism, and behavior therapy. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 9, 296-301.

Hayes, S. C., Pankey, J., & Gregg, J. (2002). Anxiety and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. In E. A. Gosch & R. A. DiTomasso (Eds.), Comparative treatments of anxiety disorders (pp. 110-136). New York: Springer.

Hayes, S. C. (2002). Acceptance, mindfulness, and science. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 9 (1), 101-106.

  • Bond, F. & Hayes, S. C. (2002). ACT at work. In F. Bond & W. Dryden (Eds.), Handbook of Brief Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Chichester, England: Wiley.
    This chapter has a fairly complete treatment manual for the treatment of stress in the workplace using ACT. It was the manual for the study above.

Hayes, S. C., (2002). Buddhism and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 9, 58-66.

Hayes, S. C., Pankey, J., Gifford, E. V., Batten, S., and Quiñones, R. (2002) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in the treatment of experiential avoidance disorders. In T. Patterson (Ed)., Comprehensive Handbook of Psychotherapy, Volume 2: Cognitive / Behavioral / Functional Approaches (pp. 319-351). New York: Wiley.

Zettle, R. D. & Hayes, S. C. (2002). Brief ACT treatment of depression. In F. Bond & W. Dryden (Eds.), Handbook of Brief Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (pp. 35-54). Chichester, England: Wiley.

Luciano, C. & Hayes, S. C. (2001). Treating experiential avoidance. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 1, 109-157.

Blackledge, J. T. & Hayes, S. C. (2001) Emotion regulation in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57, 243-255.

Dougher, M. J. & Hayes, S. C. (2000). Clinical behavior analysis. In M. J. Dougher (Ed.) Clinical Behavior Analysis (pp. 11-26). Reno, NV: Context Press.

Follette, W. C. and Hayes, S. C. (2000). Contemporary behavior therapy. In C. R. Snyder and R. Ingram (Eds.), The handbook of psychological change (pp. 381-408). New York: Wiley.

Hayes, S. C. & Batten, S. V. (2000). A primer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. European Psychotherapy, 1, 2-9.

Hayes, S. C. & Bissett, R. T. (2000). Behavioral psychotherapy and the rise of clinical behavior analysis. In J. A. Austin & J. E. Carr (Eds.), Handbook of applied behavior analysis (pp. 231-245). Reno: Context Press.

Hayes, S. C. & Gregg, J. (2000). Functional contextualism and the self. In C. Muran (Ed.), Self-relations in the psychotherapy process (pp. 291-307). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Hayes, S. C. (2000). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in the treatment of experiential avoidance disorders. Clinician’s Research Digest (Supplemental Bulletin 22, June, 1-2).

Pistorello, J., Follette, V. M., & Hayes, S. C. (2000). Long-term correlates of childhood sexual abuse: A radical behavioral perspective. In M. J. Dougher (Ed.) Clinical Behavior Analysis (pp.75-98). Reno, NV: Context Press.

Wilson, K. G., Hayes, S. C., & Byrd, M. R. (2000). Exploring compatibilities between Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and 12-Step treatment for substance abuse. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 18, 207-232.

Hayes, S. C., & Toarmino, D. (1999). The rise of clinical behaviour analysis. The Psychologist, 12, 505-509.

Hayes, S. C., Wilson, K. G., & Gifford, E.V. (1999). Consciousness and private events and. In B. Thyer (Ed.), The philosophical legacy of behaviorism (pp. 153-187). Lancaster, UK: Kluwer.

Friman, P. C., Hayes, S. C., & Wilson, K. G. (1998). Why behavior analysts should study emotion: The example of anxiety. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 31, 137-156.

Gifford, E. V. & Hayes, S. C. (1998). Functional contextualism: A pragmatic philosophy for behavioral science. In W. O’Donohue & R. Kitchener (Eds.), Handbook of behaviorism (pp. 285-327). New York: Academic Press.

Hayes, S. C., Gregg J., Wulfert, E. (1998). Akzeptanz- und commitment- therapie: ein radikal behavioraler ansatz. In Sulz, Serge K. D. (Ed.), Kurz psychotherapien: Wege in die zunkunft der psychotherapie. (pp.145-162) CIP-Medien: München, Germany.

Walser, R. D. & Hayes, S. C. (1998). Acceptance and trauma survivors: Applied issues and problems. In V. Follette, J. Ruzak, & F. Abueg (Eds.), Trauma in context: A cognitive behavioral approach to trauma (pp. 256-277). New York: Guilford Press.

Hayes, S. C., & Ju, W. (1997). The applied implications of rule-governed behavior. Chapter in W. O’Donohue (Ed.), Learning and behavior therapy (pp. 374-391). New York: Allyn & Bacon.

Hayes, S. C., & Gifford, E. V. (1997). The trouble with language: Experiential avoidance, rules, and the nature of verbal events. Psychological Science, 8, 170-173.

Robinson, P. & Hayes, S. C. (1997). Acceptance and commitment: A model for integration. In N. A. Cummings, J. L. Cummings, & J. N. Johnson. (Eds.), Behavioral health in primary care: A guide for clinical integration (pp. 177-203). Madison, CT: Psychosocial Press.

Wilson, K. G., Hayes, S. C., & Gifford, E. V. (1997). Cognition in behavior therapy: Agreements and differences. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 28, 53-63.

Hayes, S. C., & Wilson, K. G. (1995). The role of cognition in complex human behavior: A contextualistic perspective. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 26, 241-248.

Hayes, S. C. & Wilson, K.G. (1994). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Altering the verbal support for experiential avoidance. The Behavior Analyst, 17, 289-303.

Hayes, S. C. (1994). Content, context, and the types of psychological acceptance. Chapter in Hayes, S. C., Jacobson, N. S., Follette, V. M. & Dougher, M. J. (Eds.), Acceptance and change: Content and context in psychotherapy (pp. 13-32). Reno, NV: Context Press.

Kohlenberg, R., Hayes, S. C., & Tsai, M. (1993). Radical Behavioral Psychotherapy: Two contemporary examples. Clinical Psychology Review, 13, 579-592.

  • Hayes, S. C. (1992). Verbal relations, time, and suicide. In S. C. Hayes & L. J. Hayes (Eds.), Understanding verbal relations (pp. 109-118). Reno, NV: Context Press.
    More basic but another early paper putting together RFT and the theory of psychopathology that underlies ACT
  • Hayes, S. C., Kohlenberg, B. S. & Melancon, S. M. (1989). Avoiding and altering rule-control as a strategy of clinical intervention. In S. C. Hayes (Ed.), Rule governed behavior: Cognition, contingencies, and instructional control. (pp. 359-385). New York: Plenum.
    The first paper to try to put together RFT and ACT
  • Hayes, S. C. & Melancon, S. M. (1989). Comprehensive distancing, paradox, and the treatment of emotional avoidance. In M. Ascher (Ed.), Paradoxical procedures in psychotherapy (pp. 184-218). New York: Guilford.
    An early ACT chapter
  • Hayes, S. C. (1987). A contextual approach to therapeutic change. In N. Jacobson (Ed.), Psychotherapists in clinical practice: Cognitive and behavioral perspectives (pp. 327-387). New York: Guilford.
    The first full-length presentation of the ACT model (then known as "Comprehensive Distancing"
  • Hayes, S. C. (1984). Making sense of spirituality. Behaviorism, 12, 99-110.
    Sometimes it helps to see beginnings to understand what happens later. This odd little paper does that. It is a mix of philosophical moves and interests that is clearly on the way to ACT, RFT, deictic frames, a transcendent sense of self, defusion, mindfulness, contextual use of language, and other issues that are much clearer now. If you like the history of ideas and like ACT / RFT, this is a fun read.
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