ACT Worksheets

 Here's a big collection of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy worksheets from Russ Harris, author of several ACT books. For some of these worksheets, reading the book(s) is going to be a help. But many are self-explanatory. Check out the Free Stuff tab on Harris's site for additional ACT-based help--videos, audio, etc. 

Misc Worksheets

Here's a nice collection of miscellaneous worksheets from Toronto therapist/social worker, Brian Konik. Areas covered: stress management, anxiety, relationships & sex therapy, motivation & goal setting, and trauma. Check 'em out.

EFT Worksheets

If you need couples therapy, you need a couples therapist. Doing worksheets may be helpful--but could make tensions flare. Proceed with caution. Here, from the Training Institute for Emotionally Focused Therapy (TRI-EFT) is a page of EFT assessments and worksheets that may be of interest either way. 

For a full book of similar material, focused primarily on how lifelong attachment patterns play out in romantic partnerships, consider An Emotionally Focused Workbook for Couples: The Two of Us. 

And, if you're a therapist looking for a primer on EFT but don't have a full book's-worth of reading in you, here's a PowerPoint walkthrough from an Evolution of Psychotherapy conference. 

Enjoy.

ACT Worksheets

ACT--Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, for long--encourages us to stop devoting all our energy to battling our symptoms (say, anxiety or depression) and instead focus on working toward the meaningful goals we set for ourselves. Our symptoms will just have to come along for the ride. Sound interesting? On ActMindfully.au, find big sets of ACT-oriented worksheets from ACT therapist Russ Harris. Set aside your symptoms for a moment and check them out. 

Mindfulness Apps

Hey, it's the future. Maybe not everything you're working on mental-health-wise has to be done with pencil and a worksheet or couch and therapist. Take mindfulness meditation practice. It's nice to read about (check out Jon Kabat-Zinn's Wherever You Go, There You Are, for starters). But even better, having someone to guide you. When that's not available (most of the time), get that guidance with the help of an app. Many have stepped in to make this possible. Some good choices are listed in these articles:

• Five Free Mindfulness Apps (Mindful)
• The Best Meditation Apps of... (Healthline)

Head Space is the app that seems to be mentioned most among people here in L.A. Try it out. If you find something better, drop a line and say so. Thanks and happy meditating.

Free CBT Workbooks

We've posted these before and we'll post them again. The Centre for Clinical Interventions (that's right, "Centre") has a long list of free CBT-based workbooks waiting to help you tackle a wide variety of issues: panic, stress, depression, self-esteem, perfectionism, procrastination, body acceptance, assertiveness... We could keep typing, or you could just click the link.

Enjoy!

Mindfulness Exercises

From the One Mind Dharma blog, here's a page of mindfulness exercises, including a section on mindfulness for anxiety. Here's something to try:

Finger BreathingFinger breathing is one of Elizabeth’s favorite practices to offer. We recently had a student of ours who works in a trauma unit at a hospital tell us that they use this practice during their chaotic work days. Like the self-compassion practice, this is one you can lead as a group, but people can also take home to use on their own time.
People can do this with eyes open or closed, and they may use one hand or both hands. Start with the thumb on the index finger. As you inhale, slide the the thumb toward the tip and squeeze. As you exhale, slide the thumb back down the index finger. With the next breath, move on to the middle finger. You can continue this practice to the pinky finger, then move back toward the index finger. This is a great way to engage with mindfulness, as we are breathing mindfully but using the additional experience of the finger-touching to help us concentrate.