Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Is Self-Compassion More Important Than Self-Esteem?

Is it important to love yourself? It seems that depends on how you do it. Few concepts in popular psychology have gotten more attention over the last few decades than self-esteem and its importance in life success and long-term mental health. Of course, much of this discussion has focused on young people, and how families, […]

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Why Our National Conversation is Wrong and What to Do about It

In the wake of the NFL domestic violence scandal the media has exploded with questions about what we need to do governmentally, institutionally, and politically to better manage partner abuse. Some have called the current rash of stories a “national teaching moment”—an opportunity for us to wake up to the prevalence and horror of domestic

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Behavioral Science and Local Empowerment Are Needed to Help Solve the Ebola Crisis

The West African Ebola crisis is holding up a mirror to the world, and what it is reflecting back is worrisome. I was listening to the news reporting yesterday with a mixture of interest and horror. The horror was not just about what is going on in these West African countries. It was the horror

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Kissing the Banana Trunk

Will You Commit and Act in the Fight Against Ebola? Among the problems countries like Sierra Leone face in the battle against Ebola, two strike the American mind as all but incomprehensible: 1.) the widespread skepticism that the disease actually exists and 2.) burial practices that to our eyes are not only clear disease vectors

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Mindfulness and Acceptance in Evidence-Based Psychotherapy

Only a small percentage of psychotherapy services in the United States are tightly linked to existing scientific knowledge. It is a bit strange if you think of it. Would anyone want surgery that was not based on a current scientific understanding of the body? Why should the mind and behavior be any different?

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