Written by an experienced educational and developmental psychologist, ACT for Treating Children offers clinicians clear, practical, brief, and developmentally appropriate strategies grounded in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help children ages 5 to 12 learn effective coping skills, manage emotions, and bounce back from life’s difficulties.
If you treat children struggling with mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety, you know that approaches designed for adults do not work with younger clients. ACT for Treating Children presents skills grounded in evidence-based ACT to help children regulate emotions and cope with the inevitable ups and downs of life, and is suitable for clinicians with no prior knowledge of or training in ACT, as well as seasoned ACT clinicians.
This practical clinician’s guide outlines a simplified version of the ACT Hexaflex—a key component of this treatment model—called the Kidflex, to help young clients build resilience and psychological flexibility. You’ll also find detailed case studies, transcripts, activities, experiential exercises, worksheets, and session plans to help you develop the skillset you need to help children overcome disorders such as stress, anxiety and depression. Finally, you’ll find strategies for involving parents in treatment when appropriate, and enlisting them as ‘ACT coaches’ in the child’s therapy.
It can be difficult to know where to start when using ACT for individual therapy with children. That’s why the skills in this go-to guide are practical and easy-to-implement, can be done with children in both face-to-face therapy and online sessions, and are simple enough for children to put into practice in any setting—whether it’s at home, in school, or out in the world.
As a clinician that has worked with children and families from an ACT approach for many years, I can guarantee you that you’ll find some beautiful gems in this well written, practical book
Chris Fraser
Matis Miller
Author of The Uncontrollable Child
Tamar Black created a language that is suitable for kids and included great ideas for activities and exercises for both children and parents. Moreover, I feel that the ACT stance is implemented within the book itself - Highly recommended!
Highly recommend!
I have been enjoying reading this book because it is both highly informative and written to be accessible (so it is not a "chore to read"). I have been a practitioner for about 10 years now and specialize in working with children who are struggling with strong emotions and the behaviors that come with those emotions. I read a lot of books as I am always trying to find new tools and strategies for helping these kids. With that background in mind, I genuinely have found this book fantastic for providing new insights and ideas and new ways of applying existing knowledge. The ACT Kidflex alone is a wonderful idea and I think I will actually use that language with more than just children! Here are some bulleted thoughts:
- I enjoyed how Tamara points out and describes her experiences in implementing ACT w/ children – it makes it feel more relatable and less intimidating
- This book provides a good brief introduction to ACT for newbies and then quickly expands on it so experienced practitioners benefit too
- I will probably use the Kidflex language w/ all clients!