Applications of acceptance and commitment training in positive psychology

This chapter explores how acceptance and commitment training (ACT) can contribute to positive psychology coaching in a range of settings, including health coaching, leadership development, career coaching, and stress management. It discusses the value of building psychological flexibility through coaching and presents the evidence that ACT interventions contribute to desirable coaching outcomes. The chapter explores how ACT coaching works in practice in a range of coaching contexts. ACT seeks to develop coachee&s;s perspective-taking skills in order to reduce the dominance of the problem-solving mode of mind and rigid rule-governed behavior. In ACT coaching, the coachee works with the coach to choose the behavior they want to focus on and the outcomes they want to achieve – based on what they care about, their values, and what is or is not working. The primary focus of ACT is on helping people to change their behavior in ways that move their lives toward vitality and meaning.