I was recently introduced to the concept of “Third Wave Psychology” by my good friend and author Will Marre.  As a result of my inquisitiveness I was directed to author/professor Steven C. Hayes who wrote the book ” Get Out of Your Mind & Into Your Life“.   His book highlights the process entitled “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy” and was  profiled in an article published in Time Magazine in 2006.

If you are like me and had never heard of the “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy” them I encourage you to listen to this very interesting interview with Steven C. Hayes.  What you will learn is that this new process has been very successful in treating depression, transforming emotional pain, freeing yourself from negative thinking and self-judgement and a myriad of other psychological challenges.

The practice of “ACT” Therapy is about moving from suffering to full engagement with life.   People suffer.  It’s not just that they have pain–suffering is much more that that.  Human beings struggle with the forms of psychological pain the have: their difficult emotions and thoughts, their unpleasant memories, and their unwanted urges and sensations. They think about them, worry about them, resent them, anticipate and dread them.

At the same time, human beings demonstrate enormous courage, deep compassion, and remarkable ability to move ahead even with the most difficult personal histories.  Knowing they can be hurt, humans sill love other. Knowing they will die, humans still care about the future.  Facing the draw of meaninglessness, humans still embrace ideals.  At times, humans are fully alive, present and committed.

I really appreciate the analogy that Steven uses in our interview and in the book about quicksand.  Our own lives can be like quicksand, struggling to get out emotional worries, fears, traumatic and painful stories. The more we attempt to remove ourselves through the struggle the deeper we become engaged.  Exactly when will the quicksand of traumatic memory completely vanish? At what moment will the painful quicksand of the past criticism from parents or peers disappear?

If
you want to learn more about this wonderful therapy and how you can release yourself from your emotional bonds, then listen to my interview with Steven C. Hayes and click here to be directed to the website to learn more about the “Acceptance and Commitment” therapy.