Many have wondered if there is a key ingredient to living a full and happy life. For decades now, scientists and psychologists alike have been studying the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The positive psychology movement was founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play. At the same time, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)—a mindfulness-based, values-oriented behavioral therapy that has many parallels to Buddhism, yet is not religious in any way—has been focused on helping people achieve their greatest human potential. Created only years apart, ACT and positive psychology both promote human flourishing, and they often share overlapping themes and applications, particularly when it comes to setting goals, psychological strengths, mindfulness, and the clarification of what matters most—our values and our search for meaning in life. Despite these similarities, however, the two different therapeutic models are rarely discussed in relation to one another. What if unifying these theories could lead to faster, more profound and enduring improvements to the human condition? Edited by leading researchers in the field of positive psychology, Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Positive Psychology is the first professional book to successfully integrate key elements of ACT and positive psychology to promote healthy functioning in clients. By gaining an understanding of "the seven foundations of well-being," professionals will walk away with concrete, modernized strategies to use when working with clients. Throughout the book, the editors focus on how ACT, mindfulness therapies, and positive psychology can best be utilized by professionals in various settings, from prisons and Fortune 500 business organizations to parents and schools. With contributions by Steven C. Hayes, the founder of ACT, as well as other well-known authorities on ACT and positive psychology such as Robyn Walser, Kristin Neff, Dennis Tirch, Ian Stewart, Louise McHugh, Lance M. McCracken, Acacia Parks, Robert Biswas-Diener, and more, this book provides state-of-the-art research, theory, and applications of relevance to mental health professionals, scientists, advanced students, and people in the general public interested in either ACT or positive psychology.

Mindfulness in Positive Psychology brings together the latest thinking in these two important disciplines. Positive psychology, the science of wellbeing and strengths, is the fastest growing branch of psychology, offering an optimal home for the research and application of mindfulness. As we contemplate mindfulness in the context of positive psychology, meaningful insights are being revealed in relation to our mental and physical health. The book features chapters from leading figures from mindfulness and positive psychology, offering an exciting combination of topics. Mindfulness is explored in relation to flow, meaning, parenthood, performance, sports, obesity, depression, pregnancy, spirituality, happiness, mortality, and many other ground-breaking topics. This is an invitation to rethink about mindfulness in ways that truly expands our understanding of wellbeing. Mindfulness in Positive Psychology will appeal to a readership of students and practitioners, as well as those interested in mindfulness, positive psychology, or other relevant areas such as education, healthcare, clinical psychology, counselling psychology, occupational psychology, and coaching. The book explores cutting edge theories, research, and practical exercises, which will be relevant to all people interested in this area, and particularly those who wish to enhance their wellbeing via mindfulness.

The MAC approach developed by connecting the more traditional scientific knowledge base on human performance and self-regulation to more contemporary findings to do with meta-cognitive processes, emotion regulation, and acceptance-based behavioral interventions. Written by the originators of the MAC model, this book will provide both the necessary theory, empirical background, and a structured step-by-step, easy-to-use protocol for the understanding, assessment, conceptualization, and enhancement of human performance. It is a protocol that can be readily adapted for a wide variety of high-performing clientele--from athletes and business people, to sales people, professionals in a variety of fields, and emergency/military personnel. The material can be integrated by practicing clinicians as an adjunctive intervention strategy to help clients with specific performance problems. Numerous case examples, forms, handouts, in- and out-of-session assignments and activities, and verbatim client instructions are included.

Positive Psychology will help you to look on the bright side and to find your place in the world around you. With expert encouragement and guidance, you will set out your own positive psychology project to discover your strengths, overcome negative attitudes, focus on what gives you purpose, and take control of your life choices. From savouring positive emotions to building better relationships and developing resilience, you will gain the tools to boost your mental and physical well-being and to find fulfilment in everyday life. This is the perfect concise start to making your life better.

There are hundreds of books that will try to help you ''overcome'' or ''put an end to'' depression. But what if you could use your depression to change your life for the better? Your symptoms may be signals that something in your life needs to change. Learning to understand and interpret these signals is much more important than ignoring or avoiding them - approaches that only make the situation worse. This workbook uses techniques from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to offer a new treatment plan for depression that will help you live a productive life by accepting your feelings instead of fruitlessly trying to avoid them. The Mindfulness & Acceptance Workbook for Depression will show you, step-by-step, how to stop this cycle, feel more energized, and involve yourself in pleasurable and fulfilling activities that will help you work through, rather than avoid, aspects of your life that are depressing you. Use the techniques in this book to evaluate your own depression and create a personalized treatment plan. You'll enrich your total life experience by focusing your energy not on fighting depression, but on living the life you want.

Adolescents face unique pressures and worries. Will they pass high school? Should they go to college? Will they find love? And what ways do they want to act in the world? The uncertainty surrounding the future can be overwhelming. Sadly, and all too often, if things don’t go smoothly, adolescents will begin labeling themselves as losers, unpopular, unattractive, weird, or dumb. And, let’s not forget the ubiquitous ‘not good enough’ story that often begins during these formative years. These labels are often carried forward throughout life. So what can you do, now, to help lighten this lifelong burden? The Thriving Adolescent offers teachers, counselors, and mental health professionals powerful techniques for working with adolescents. Based in proven- effective acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), the skills and tips outlined in this book will help adolescents and teens manage difficult emotions, connect with their values, achieve mindfulness and vitality, and develop positive relationships with friends and family. The evidence-based practices in this book focus on developing a strong sense of self, and will give adolescents the confidence they need to make that difficult transition into adulthood. Whether it’s school, family, or friend related, adolescents experience a profound level of stress, and often they lack the psychological tools to deal with stress in productive ways. The skills we impart to them now will help set the stage for a happy, healthy adulthood. If you work with adolescents or teens, this is a must-have addition to your professional library.

This book is about savoring life—the capacity to attend to the joys, pleasures, and other positive feelings that we experience in our lives. The authors enhance our understanding of what savoring is and the conditions under which it occurs. Savoring provides a new theoretical model for conceptualizing and understanding the psychology of enjoyment and the processes through which people manage positive emotions. The authors review their quantitative research on savoring, as well as the research of others, and provide measurement instruments with scoring instructions for assessing and studying savoring. Authors Bryant and Veroff outline the necessary preconditions that must exist for savoring to occur and distinguish savoring from related concepts such as coping, pleasure, positive affect, emotional intelligence, flow, and meditation. The book’s lifespan perspective includes a conceptual analysis of the role of time in savoring. Savoring is also considered in relation to human concerns, such as love, friendship, physical and mental health, creativity, and spirituality. Strategies and hands-on exercises that people can use to enhance savoring in their lives are provided, along with a review of factors that enhance savoring. Savoring is intended for researchers, students, and practitioners interested in positive psychology from the fields of social, clinical, health, and personality psychology and related disciplines. The book may serve as a supplemental text in courses on positive psychology, emotion and motivation, and other related topics. The chapters on enhancing savoring will be especially attractive to clinicians and counselors interested in intervention strategies for positive psychological adjustment.