Mindfulness for Two: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach to Mindfulness in Psychotherapy

While most applications of mindfulness to clinical psychotherapy come from the Buddhist tradition of formal meditation practice, the approach presented in this volume comes from a very different place: from author Kelly Wilson's self-confessed inability to listen and pay attention to his clients. Wilson, one of the central figures in the exciting field of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), discovered early in his career as a therapist that his attention lapsed in therapy sessions, leaving his clients telling their troubles to someone who, for all intents and purposes, wasn't even in the room. Wilson resolved to correct this problem and made a personal commitment to remain present for his clients, to "show up" to whatever they brought to their sessions, no matter how painful, awkward, or even boring. In the process of figuring out how to accomplish this, he also observed a variety of ways in which clients themselves passed in and out of contact with the present moment, with significant consequences upon the degree to which they could effect behavior change during their sessions. This book sets forth, for the first time, Wilson's analysis of mindfulness processes as a central theme in the workings of ACT and develops an experiential technology that therapists can use both to improve their effectiveness in the therapy room and to facilitate positive change in their clients.The book includes a DVD with more than five hours of QuickTime video that shows client-therapist interactions, which illustrate the techniques presented in the book -- some that feature Kelly Wilson himself working with clients. Practicing therapists will find this volume and video to be a close second to actually attending one of Wilson's highly sought-after experiential workshops.