Living beyond Your Pain: Using Acceptance Commitment Therapy to Ease Chronic Pain » (Workbook)

JoAnne Dahl, Ph.D., is senior lecturer and associate professor of psychology at the University of Uppsala in Uppsala, Sweden. She is a prominent acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) researcher who specializes in the use of ACT to treat chronic pain and epilepsy. She travels internationally to conduct ACT workshops and training sessions for professionals. She also continues to research the use of ACT to treat chronic pain and other conditions.

Tobias Lundgren, MS, is a licensed clinical psychologist with a specialization in cognitive behavioral therapy. He is active both as a clinician and researcher of behavior medicine. He has carried out applications of ACT in the clinical research areas of epilepsy, diabetes, and chronic pain. Lundgren works out of the Department of Psychology at the University of Uppsala in Uppsala, Sweden, but he has conducted clinical research with epilepsy clinics and organizations in Pune, India, and Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. Besides clinical research, Tobias conducts educational workshops and clinical trainings and supervises staff members of treatment homes.

IN BRIEF
Using mindfulness-based techniques and cognitive behavioral tools, a leading expert on the use of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) teaches readers to transcend the experience of chronic pain by reconnecting with other, more valued aspects of their lives.

A rich and rewarding life is possible for those of us who live with chronic pain. Based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), one of the most promising and fastest growing psychotherapies being practiced today, this book breaks with conventional notions of pain management. These "feel good" approaches-including the use of pain-killing medication-all work to prevent painful sensations. The ACT approach, however, begins with the assumption that pain is a normal part of living that teaches us a lot about the state of our bodies and minds. Attempts to avoid it often cause more harm than good. By accepting and learning to live with pain, you limit the control it exerts over you. Mindfulness exercises, in particular, help you transform pain from a life-defining preoccupation to a simple experience. From this strong position, you can make choices that will lead to the life you've always wanted. Committed action is the way to make it happen.