Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Couples: A Clinician's Guide to Using Mindfulness, Values, and Schema Awareness to Rebuild Relationships

by Avigail Lev PsyD, Matthew McKay PhD, Robyn D. Walser PhD (Foreword by)

Overview

Relationships take work. In this much-anticipated book, best-selling author Matthew McKay and psychologist Avigail Lev present the ten most common relationship schemas, and provide an evidence-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) treatment protocol for professionals to help clients overcome the barriers that hold them back in their relationships.

Romantic relationships are a huge challenge for many of us, as evidenced by our high divorce rates. But what is it that causes so much pain and discord in many relationships? In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Couples, Matthew McKay and Avigail Lev provide the first ACT-based treatment protocol for couples that identifies the ten most common relationship schemas—and the coping behaviors they drive—to help you guide clients through their pain and toward solutions that reflect the needs and values of the couple.

Rather than working to stop relationship schemas from being triggered or to reduce schema pain, you’ll be able to help your clients observe and name what triggers their rigid coping behaviors when their schemas are activated. And by learning new skills when they’re triggered, your clients will be able to replace avoidant and coping behaviors with values-based action for the betterment of the relationship.

By making your clients’ avoidant behavior the target of treatment— as opposed to their thoughts and beliefs—this skills-based guide provides the tools you need to help your clients change how they respond to their partner.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626254824
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	03/01/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	248
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Avigail Lev, PsyD, is a psychotherapist and executive coach in San Francisco, CA. She works with couples and individuals who struggle with interpersonal problems, anxiety, trauma, and mood disorders. Lev specializes in integrating acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and schema therapy to strengthen relationships. She is coauthor of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Interpersonal Problems and The Interpersonal Problems Workbook. Lev presents her research at regional and international conferences, and provides consultation, trainings, and workshops on utilizing evidence-based treatments. For more information, visit www.bayareacbtcenter.com.

Matthew McKay, PhD, is a professor at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. He has authored and coauthored numerous books, including The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook, Self-Esteem, Thoughts and Feelings, When Anger Hurts, and ACT on Life Not on Anger. He has also penned two novels: Us and Wawona Hotel. McKay received his PhD in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, and specializes in the cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety and depression. He lives and works in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Foreword writer Robyn D. Walser, PhD, is associate director of the National Center for PTSD Dissemination and Training Division, and associate clinical professor in the department of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. As a licensed clinical psychologist, she maintains an international training, consulting, and therapy practice. Walser is developing innovative ways to translate science into practice, and is responsible for the dissemination of state-of-the-art knowledge and treatment interventions. Walser has coauthored three books, including Learning ACT, The Mindful Couple, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma-Related Problems.

Matthew McKay, PhD, is a professor at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. He has authored and coauthored numerous books, including The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook, Self-Esteem, and Couple Skills, which have sold more than a million copies combined. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, and specializes in the cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety and depression.
Robyn D. Walser, PhD, is director of TL Consultation and Psychological Services, and codirector of Bay Area Trauma Recovery Clinical Services. She works at the National Center for PTSD, developing and disseminating innovative ways to translate science into practice; and serves as assistant clinical professor in the department of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. As a licensed clinical psychologist, she maintains an international training, consulting, and therapy practice. Walser has authored and coauthored six books: The Heart of ACT, Learning ACT, The Mindful Couple, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma-Related Problems, and ACT for Clergy and Pastoral Counselors.

Table of Contents

Foreword v

Introduction 1

1 Where Couple Conflicts Start 5

2 Learning About Schemas 11

3 Schema Coping Behaviors and the Role of Avoidance 33

4 Values Clarification for Couples 50

5 Identifying Barriers to Values-Based Actions and Recognizing Moments of Choice 82

6 Cognitive Barriers to Values-Based Actions 91

7 Emotional Barriers to Values-Based Actions 108

8 Skill Deficits as Barriers to Values-Based Actions 124

9 Values-Based Problem Solving 158

10 Perspective Taking 167

11 Session Structure: The Eight-Step Protocol 178

Appendix A Research Outcomes 190

Appendix B Couples Schema Questionnaire 191

Appendix C ACT for Couples Session Dialogue 197

Appendix D Handouts 211

References 241

Index 245

Interviews

Lev resides in Oakland, CA; McKay resides in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Editorial Reviews

One of the greatest assets a couples therapist can provide to a couple in distress is a clear, accepting, honest description of the different perspectives and experiences each member of the couple brings to a conflict. On this foundation of perspective taking, couples can begin to hear each other, connect again, and eventually move forward together. Schema therapy offers great insight into the range of perspectives and experiences a person might bring to conflict—the schema formulations have withstood the tests of time, clinical practice, and clinical trials. In turn, the core processes of ACT center on relating to such experiences—in ourselves and others—in flexible and values-based ways. By melding the insights of schema therapy with the processes of ACT, Lev and McKay offer clinicians and their clients a clear, practical framework for understanding what is happening in the heat of conflict, and beginning to build bridges of understanding and acceptance. This is a wonderfully useful, readable guide that every couples therapist (or therapist who works with people in relationships) will find to be of immediate and enduring value.”
—Gareth Holman, PhD, psychologist in private practice; lead author of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Made Simple; and founding partner of OpenTeam, a consulting firm dedicated to helping business teams apply the science of psychological flexibility to communicate and collaborate more effectively towards purpose

From the Publisher