Media Center
February 2013: The Critical Partner
is released in German
January 2013: My third book is scheduled
for release July 1
Title:
The Interpersonal Problems Workbook: ACT to End Painful Relationship Patterns
Description:
Do you often lash out at people? Do you let your emotions rule your interactions with others? Do you find it difficult to see things from others’ point of view? You are not alone. Despite the fact that we all have to deal with other people our daily lives, many of us have difficulties with interpersonal relationships.
Written by psychologist and bestselling author Matthew McKay, The Interpersonal Problems Workbook combines research and evidence-based techniques for strengthening relationships in all areas in life—whether it’s at home, at work, with a significant other, a parent, or a child. The skills in this workbook are based in both schema therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and are designed to help you connect and communicate effectively with those around them.
ACT has been proven effective in helping people improve their relationships with others. The ACT skills detailed in this book include present moment awareness, diffusion, and flexibility—all of which will help you to improve your relationships with others. In this book you will learn what your schema is, and how to act on your values to communicate and get along with others.
If you are ready to stop building walls and start connecting with those around you, this book presents powerful, effective tools for change.
December 2012
Review by Doody’s of ACT for Interpersonal Problems: Using Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Schema Awareness to Change Interpersonal Behaviors
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NEW REVIEW:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Interpersonal Problems: Using Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Schema Awareness to Change Interpersonal Behaviors.
New Harbinger Publications, 2012, $39.95.
AUTHORS:
McKay, Matthew, PsyD; Lev, Avigail, PsyD; Skeen, Michelle, PsyD
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA:
ISBN: 978-1-60882-289-8, 204 pages, soft cover.
DOODY’S NOTES / REVIEWER’S EXPERT OPINION:
Howard A Fox, MA (Fielding Graduate University)
Description:
This book provides insight into how schema and acceptance therapy, with the addition of mindfulness techniques, provide an effective approach to helping clients gain an awareness of, and to reconcile, disruptive interpersonal behaviors.
Purpose:
The purpose is to provide techniques for integrating schema and acceptance-based interventions and tools together with mindfulness techniques to treat individuals who are presenting with interpersonal problems. Therapies that include mindfulness techniques seem to be at the forefront of much scholarly and nonscholarly writing. The authors provide sufficient background, examples, and tools for interested readers and practitioners to begin incorporating these techniques into their practice.
Audience:
Although intended for behavioral professionals at the MA, PhD level, this book also will be helpful to graduate students and professionally trained and accredited coaches who are familiar with an evidence-based approach.
Features:
The book notes the difficulties of treating individuals with interpersonal problems using commonly recognized approaches and details their shortcomings.
The authors proceed to introduce the 10 schemas that are associated with interpersonal issues and present easily reproducible tools that clients can begin to use to understand their specific situation and their method for coping. The book goes on to provide techniques to help clients understand the schema(s) that affect them, and to introduce them to techniques for changing their long-term patterns. Techniques and tools for moving the client toward recognizing the origin of their schema and to begin the transition to acceptance commitment therapy and mindfulness skills to change their situation are then presented. What surprised me was that much of the current scholarly, evidence-based, and lay practice writing about mindfulness has acknowledged the work of Jon Kabit-Zinn, but there is no mention of him in this book.
Assessment:
I found this book to be very helpful in providing an increased understanding of disruptive schema, acceptance and commitment therapy, and especially the mindfulness techniques. Books written at this level are highly accessible and serve to strengthen a belief in an evidence-based approach to serving clients.
October 2012: My fourth book
with New Harbinger Publications
This is a self-help book that provides women (and men) suffering from fear of abandonment with breakthrough evidence-based solutions for addressing this issue. It will be available in 2014.
June 2013: My third book is scheduled to be released
Interpersonal Problems Workbook
Based on a successful research study, this book presents a new, well structured, cohesive approach for readers to identify what is causing the problems they face, and give them powerful ACT-based skills to solve those issues. This book is a collaboration with Matthew McKay PhD, Avigail Lev PsyD and Patrick Fanning.
June 2012: My second book is released
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Interpersonal Problems:
Using Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Schema Awareness to Change Interpersonal Behaviors
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Interpersonal Problems presents a complete treatment protocol for therapists working with clients who repeatedly fall into unhealthy patterns in their relationships with friends, family members, coworkers, and romantic partners. These clients may blame others, withdraw when feeling threatened, react defensively in conflicts, or have a deep-seated sense of distrust—all interpersonal problems that damage relationships and cause enormous suffering.
This book presents an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) approach—utilizing a schema-based formulation—to help these clients overcome maladaptive interpersonal behavior. First, clients learn how schema avoidance behavior damages their relationships. Second, clients face “creative hopelessness” and practice new mindfulness skills. Third, clients examine what they value in their relationships and what they hope to gain from them, and translate their values into clear intentions for acting differently in the future. And lastly, clients face the cognitive and emotional barriers standing between them and values-based behavior in their relationships. By learning to act on their values instead of falling into schema-influenced patterns, clients can eventually overcome the interpersonal problems that hold them back.
May 2012: Relationships 2.0 radio show is launched
I’m excited about my new radio show, Relationships 2.0, which airs on Tuesdays from 3-4:00 pm on KCAA AM-1050. I interview guests who present their unique perspectives and expertise on topics that cover all aspects of relationships in our lives!
April 2012: The Critical Partner is released in Dutch
November 2011: My first book is released
The Critical Partner: How to End the Cycle of Criticism and
Get the Love You Want
When you are in a relationship with a critical partner—someone who constantly blames you and holds you to unrealistic standards—you may feel picked apart, unworthy and unhappy. You may start to wonder if you’ll ever be good enough for your partner. This guide can help you repair your relationship by getting to the root of why your partner criticizes you so that you both can build a more loving and supportive partnership.
Based in schema therapy, The Critical Partner can help you gradually change unhealthy relationship patterns and help your partner move beyond the need to criticize. Through a series of assessment quizzes and worksheets, you’ll learn what’s driving your partner’s behavior and what makes you vulnerable to critical attacks. You’ll also discover alternative coping strategies for deflecting criticism and break the long-standing conflicts that keep you from moving forward as a couple. This book will help you get to the root of the problem so that you can repair your relationship and get the love you want.
