The ACT Workbook for Anger: Manage Emotions and Take Back Your Life with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

by Robyn D. Walser PhD, Manuela O'Connell

Overview

A much-needed, comprehensive program for managing anger in a world of triggers, trolls, and outrage.

Everyone gets angry from time to time. Anger is a natural human emotion, but it can often boil over and wreak havoc in your personal and professional life. If you struggle with chronic, uncontrollable anger, you need help now—especially in these times of increasing volatility. This workbook can get you started.

Written by renowned acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) experts, The ACT Workbook for Anger offers a comprehensive anger management program designed especially for navigating the current social and political climate. You’ll discover the secret to unlocking your capacity for acceptance, mindfulness, kindness, and compassion. You’ll also learn to apply these newfound skills to break anger’s stranglehold so you can pause, take a deep breath, and create the space you need to react in a more thoughtful way.

Managing anger has never been more challenging. Everywhere you look, people are on edge and volatile. This book will show you how to navigate these challenging times with kindness and compassion for yourself and others.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684036530
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	11/01/2021
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.42(d)

About the Author

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.


Manuela O’Connell is an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) therapist and trainer who conducts workshops and seminars in English and Spanish. She is professor at Universidad Favaloro at Buenos Aires, Argentina, and holds ACT and mindfulness workshops for the general public. She has written a self-help book in Spanish titled Una vida valiosa, and was a contributor to The Heart of ACT.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 1

1 Understanding Anger 9

2 Understanding Change: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy 31

3 Letting Go of Control: What Works and What Does Not 49

4 Willingness to Experience 63

5 Recognizing Mind 75

6 Who Am I? Contacting a Larger Sense of Self 93

7 What Truly Matters 107

8 ACTing on What Matters 121

9 Compassion and Anger 145

10 Forgiveness and Anger 159

11 The Beginning and the End Are Intertwined 169

References 177

Interviews

Walser resides in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area; O’Connell resides in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Editorial Reviews

In this clear, engaging, and deeply useful book, Walser and O’Connell have created a truly unique offering. The ACT Workbook for Anger masterfully guides us to a compassionate understanding of why we struggle with anger, and offers powerful tools to help those who struggle with this challenging emotion—not by trying to control our anger or shaming ourselves for having it, but by deeply engaging with what is most important to us. A vital resource for all who struggle with anger, and for those who seek to help them. Highly recommended!”
—Russell Kolts, PhD, professor of psychology at Eastern Washington University, and author of The Compassionate Mind Guide to Managing Your Anger and CFT Made Simple

Russell Kolts

This is not yet another hokey book on how to get rid of anger. Instead, we learn that anger is something we all experience. It is part of being human, not something to be ashamed of. Armed with this pivotal insight—and armed with their own personal histories of growing up around anger—the authors do a masterful job of taking us on a scientifically based, step-by-step exploration of the inner workings of our anger, and how we can both welcome it and manage it to our lasting benefit. If you have ever felt your anger is over the top, or felt helpless to do anything about it, this is the book for you. Highly recommended.”
—Kirk Strosahl, PhD, cofounder of ACT, and coauthor of The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression

Kirk Strosahl

Written by two master clinicians with decades of experience, this is a compassionate, science-based approach to responding effectively to anger. Many of the strategies we use to try to ‘control’ or avoid anger end up backfiring, further increasing pain and shame. Instead, this workbook offers practical tools that will help you understand anger and develop the skills needed to live in line with your values, even when anger is present.”
—Jenna LeJeune, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist; president of Portland Psychotherapy Clinic, Research, and Training Center; peer-reviewed acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) trainer; and coauthor of Values in Therapy

Jenna LeJeune

Superficially, anger is something that must be controlled, but that only applies to angry behavior. Anger the emotion can be a wise companion, helping you to see your own fears and vulnerabilities from a place of genuine self-compassion. That is what this well-written and wise book will teach you how to do. If you’ve caused terrible pain for yourself or those you love by acting out of anger, freezing in place in the face of anger, losing your boundaries, or hiding from yourself to suppress anger, it’s time to learn how to relate to this basic human emotion in a new way. Pick up this book and begin.”
—Steven C. Hayes, PhD, Nevada Foundation Professor in the department of psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno; and originator and codeveloper of ACT

Steven C. Hayes

Repeated anger behavior can damage our lives, our families’ lives, and even our larger community/culture. The ACT Workbook for Anger offers transformative processes to change anger-driven behavior into values-based actions, to accept angry feelings and thoughts without turning them into attacks, and to replace anger judgements with compassion and forgiveness. Highly recommended.”
—Matthew McKay, PhD, coauthor of ACT on Life Not on Anger and When Anger Hurts

Matthew McKay

Two of our most tender voices in ACT, Robyn and Manuela, have created a guide to show us the way from ‘anger is bad’ to ‘anger is interesting’. Brief, and packed with powerful exercises, this book is a must for both suppressors and those who act out. Read it and learn to be sweet to yourself (and your vulnerability) as you do what matters.”
—Patricia Robinson, PhD, director of training at Mountainview Consulting, director of innovation at Interprofessional Primary Care Institute of Oregon, and coauthor of The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression and The Depression Toolkit

Patricia Robinson