Steven Hayes – Cognitive Defusion

Description Of Cognitive Defusion

In this third video of the ACT in Action series, you will learn about the core ACT principle of cognitive defusion-a process of de-fusing from your thoughts and learning to accept them without struggle so that you are free engage with life more consciously and intentionally.

In these sessions with clients struggling with depression and anxiety, ACT founder Steven Hayes and master ACT clinician Rainer Sonntag, demonstrate a variety of cognitive defusion techniques that therapists can easily integrate into clinical practice.

Using “deliteralization,” Hayes helps his client separate words from their meanings, examine her automatic thoughts and create some space between her thoughts and emotions. And in a session with an anxious and resistant client, we learn about “physicalizing” thoughts-giving them shape, form and definition so that clients can more easily disidentify from them.

Synthesizing both mindfulness and cognitive behavior techniques, cognitive defusion is a therapeutic tool that every therapist should have in their tool box. As you watch these master clinicians help their clients move from depression and anxiety to hope and authentic engagement in the work of therapy, you will no doubt want to learn more about ACT.

By watching this video, you will:

• Gain a deep understanding of cognitive defusion.
• Observe a number of different techniques for introducing and explaining cognitive defusion.
• Learn about common pitfalls with cognitive defusion, as well as skills to recognize and remedy them.

This DVD has English subtitles.

About Steven Hayes

Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., is the co-founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), best-selling author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life and Nevada Foundation Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada.

An author of 44 books and nearly 600 scientific articles, he has shown in his research how language and thought leads to human suffering, and has developed ACT as a way of correcting these processes. Hayes has been president of several scientific societies and has received several national awards, such as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

His popular book, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life was featured in Timemagazine among several other major media outlets, and for a time was the number one best-selling self-help book in the United States.

Steven Hayes speaks internationally on acceptance and mindfulness and is one of the world’s most influential and cited clinical psychologists.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Dr. Steven Hayes has an employment relationship with the University of Nevada. He is the President of the Institute for Better Health and the research director at Praxis Continuing Education and Training. He is a member of the scientific advisory committee for MIND Foundation and receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Hayes has a financial relationship with PsychFlex. He receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.

Non-financial: Steven Hayes serves on the policy making council for Universal Scientific Education and Research Network. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Society, the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, and the Association for Behavioral Analysis International.

More courses from the same author: Steven Hayes