ACT Workbook for Depression and Shame

Matthew Mckay

Sujets

• Assertiveness
• Abnormal psychology

Informations

• Publié par: New Harbinger Publications
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781684035564
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

“Some of our greatest lessons result from experiencing shame if we are able to learn from the emotion. McKay, Greenberg, and Fanning illuminate the foundation of shame in defectiveness schemas; and the negative, automatic thoughts and coping mechanisms that accompany this behavioral pattern. They help readers recognize the thoughts associated with the experience of shame in defectiveness schemas, including hypersensitivity to criticism, blame, comparison, and rejection. Through facilitating the clarification of values and employing mindfulness practices, they guide readers to an awareness of the emotion and its accompanied sensations, thoughts, and urges—skillfully demonstrating an approach that leads to accepting feelings, having self-compassion, and responding in new ways.”
—Mary Lamia, PhD , clinical psychologist, professor, and coauthor of The Upside of Shame
“For anyone struggling with depression, McKay, Greenberg, and Fanning have combined in one amazing book the key to understanding your illness and the method of unlocking its grip on your life. The authors have created a step-by-step process to rewrite negative self-beliefs, change feelings of defectiveness, live a meaningful life, and develop self-compassion. Surely anyone who follows their guidance will experience a significant life improvement.”
— Jeffrey C. Wood, PsyD , psychologist, and coauthor of The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook and The New Happiness
“An incredibly powerful, well-written, and important book for addressing the feelings of inadequacy, defectiveness, shame, unlovability, and hopelessness that often come with depression. Using techniques from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), this workbook offers valuable strategies for addressing childhood wounds, rewriting your story, and moving toward individual values and goals. It gives readers a critical opportunity to change the way they see themselves—and to subsequently change their lives.”
— Rachel Zoffness, PhD , assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco; chair of the American Association of Pain Psychology; and author of The Pain Management Workbook and The Chronic Pain and Illness Workbook for Teens
“At last, a book that brings light to what most clinicians intuitively understand: the relationship between shame and depression. The authors clarify the origins and maintenance of depression by identifying and deconstructing defective schemas. Complex concepts are conveyed clearly and illustrated through case studies. Exercises and worksheets prompt the client to identify triggers and to reframe thoughts. Psychotherapists and laypersons will find this book an essential tool in treating depression
— Cynthia Boyd, PhD , forensic neuropsychologist in independent practice in La Jolla, CA
“When someone has the belief that they are defective in some way, it can lead to a fear of getting close to others, often resulting in loneliness, depression, and shame. If you feel this way, you are not alone. This workbook will help you identify what is standing in the way of believing you are worthy of the love and acceptance that you deserve.”
— Michelle Skeen, PsyD , author of Love Me, Don’t Leave Me ; and coauthor of Just As You Are
“Thoughts related to shame and ‘being defective’ affect a multitude of people; for many sufferers the tendency is to shut down, hide, isolate, disconnect from others, and stop living life. Who wants that? In this workbook, the authors introduce readers to skills derived from ACT to unpack these behaviors, stop being trapped by those narratives, and start living a fulfilling life. This is a workbook that is written in plain language, with lot of examples and specific skills to put into action. I highly recommend it!”
— Patricia E. Zurita Ona, PsyD , author of The ACT Workbook for Teens with OCD and Living Beyond OCD Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy , director of the East Bay Behavior Therapy Center, and fellow of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science


Publisher’s Note
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books
Copyright © 2020 by Matthew McKay, Michael Jason Greenberg, and Patrick Fanning
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
5674 Shattuck Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
www.newharbinger.com
Cover design by Amy Shoup
Acquired by Catharine Meyers
Edited by Jennifer Eastman
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file


Contents
Chapter 1: Your Defectiveness Schema
Chapter 2: Assessment
Chapter 3: Defectiveness Coping Behaviors
Chapter 4: From Avoidance to Acceptance
Chapter 5: Mindfulness
Chapter 6: Values
Chapter 7: Defusion
Chapter 8: Avoidance and Exposure
Chapter 9: Facing Your Shame and Sadness
Chapter 10: Self-Compassion
Chapter 11: Relapse Prevention
Appendix 1” Worksheets
Appendix 2: Measures
Appendix 3: A Hybrid ACT and Schema Therapy Protocol for the Treatment of Depression
References
Chapter 1: Your Defectiveness Schema
If you’re reading this book, there is a good chance that feelings of defectiveness and depression have been a part of your life. You’ve been living with thoughts that you’re flawed somehow, unworthy of other people’s respect, and no one could ever care about you. It might feel as if you’ve been living your life behind a cold and abrasive mask. This mask is heavy and burdensome in its crude design. Its weight saps energy, motivation, and desire from your body. Behind the mask, you experience the world from your own portable prison, far removed from the experiences of love, admiration, and connection that seem natural and easy to those living a “normal” life. With its oppressive and isolating nature, this weight has inspired you to try to free yourself from its grasp. For a while, things might have seemed like they were looking up for you—starting a new relationship, getting a new job, achieving some success. But in the end, it was only a matter of time before pain, rejection, and failure reminded you once again why you wore the mask in the first place. And each time you see that happy couple, read that positive status update, or hear that cheerful reassurance—“Everyone feels sad at times” or “You just need to be positive”—you are reminded of how disconnected you are from the “normal” human experience. Perhaps it’s gotten to the point that you feel like nobody will ever truly love you.
If this sounds like you, maybe you’ve already given up on ever feeling “normal,” and you have resigned yourself to a life of feeling unfulfilled, depressed, and alone. But maybe you’re reading this book because there is a part of you that wants to be freed from the crushing weight of depression. Maybe you picked up this book because you’ve decided it was time to approach your depression from a different perspective, and start your journey toward living a life of acceptance and empowerment, in which you can make decisions that are consistent with a life you value. If you have come to the point in your life when you are no longer content with hiding behind the heavy mask of depression and defectiveness, this book is written for you.
This book is different. It was written to teach you the techniques of mindfulness (the ability to nonjudgmentally notice your experience) and what is known, in acceptance and commitment therapy, as “defusion” (the ability to separate yourself from your thoughts and recognize your thoughts for what they are). Odds are that the thoughts that your depression and your sense of defectiveness generate in you are insistent and overwhelming. Mindfulness and defusion help you learn to look at those thoughts differently, so as to reduce their overwhelming nature and open space to act differently.
This book will also teach you how to recognize your values, what really matters to you, as opposed to what defectiveness and depression tell you that you can or can’t do. And it guides you through exposure—a psychological intervention to reduce the depression, fear, shame, and anger that currently control and limit your behavior. Finally, it gives you concrete steps to engage in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) values-based behavior, and it shows you how to develop a more detached observer self to replace self-defeating behaviors. In the following chapters, you will learn to utilize mindfulness, defusion, and exposure as a way to stand tall against the depression that has enslaved you to suffering. With your newfound resilience, you will apply personal, value-driven behaviors to regain control of your life and fortify yourself to whatever challenges the future may hold.
Before you learn how to tackle your depressive symptoms, it is important to learn why your depression came along in the first place. In order to answer this question, you need to understand how one of the fundamental attributes to your development has created a script that colors every aspect of your perception. Perhaps without even knowing it, you have been wearing a tinted pair of glasses that changed the way you see yourself, others, and the world around you.
Schemas
Much like the actors and actresses of movies and theatrical productions, we play out the acts of our lives by reading different scripts. From an early age, we start composing our individual scripts based on the relationships and experiences we have in the world around us. Tasked with filli