1. www.emccconference.org 2 nd Annual Mentoring and Coaching Research Conference 3-4 July 2012 – Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom John Groom Groom Executive Coaching Understanding ACT A Therapeutic Approach that Delivers for Coaching

2. Thoughts and feelings questionnaire A. I must control my feelings in order to be successful B. It is unnecessary for me to control my feelings to be successful A. Frustration is bad B. Frustration is neither good or bad just uncomfortable A. I’m afraid of strong feelings B. I’m not afraid of strong feelings A. In order to do something important I have to get rid of doubts B.I can do important things with doubts present A. When negative thoughts arise I must get rid of them B. When negative thoughts arise I simply allow them to be A. The best way to deal with negative feelings is to analyse them B. The best way to deal with negative feelings is to simply acknowledge them A. I will be happy when I eliminate negative thinking B. I will be happy allowing negative thoughts but doing what is important for me. 2 nd Annual Mentoring and Coaching Research Conference 3-4 July 2012 – Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom

3. 2 nd Annual Mentoring and Coaching Research Conference 3-4 July 2012 – Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom www.emccconference.org What is ACT? Acceptance and Commitment Training/Therapy A series of techniques to help individuals live more fulfilled lives by helping them change the way they think and behave ACT is based on two goals: 1. To effectively handle painful emotions, thoughts, feelings and images 2. To create a rich and fulfilling life Build well-being and deal with a range issues such as: - Managing dysfunctional relationships - Reducing worry and stress - Dealing with chronic painful situations and disabilities - Handling painful thought and feelings

4. What makes ACT different? ACT does not advocate the disputing of troublesome thoughts It suggests quietly observing these in a mindful way The goal is not symptom relief Attempting to avoid negative feelings can make them worse… … like struggling in quicksand

5. 2 nd Annual Mentoring and Coaching Research Conference 3-4 July 2012 – Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom www.emccconference.org ACT and Executive Coaching A common issue that arises in executive coaching: frustration at work Trying to control frustration can make it worse ACT allows our emotions to move freely and saves us time and energy from struggling against the frustration Senior executives are often good at defending and justifying their thoughts and actions, ACT is a powerful technique to get beyond defensiveness The struggle switch

6. Contact with the present moment Active acceptance De-fusion of thoughts Observing self Knowing your values Committed action 2 nd Annual Mentoring and Coaching Research Conference 3-4 July 2012 – Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom www.emccconference.org The six elements of ACT (Harris, 2007)

7. 2 nd Annual Mentoring and Coaching Research Conference 3-4 July 2012 – Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom www.emccconference.org ACT Techniques Clean and dirty frustration De-fusion Observing self Active acceptance Mindfulness Knowing your values Committed action

8. 2 nd Annual Mentoring and Coaching Research Conference 3-4 July 2012 – Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom www.emccconference.org Evidence for ACT A growing body of evidence for the efficacy of ACT (Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda & Lillis, 2006) in: Workplace stress (Bond & Bunce, 2003; Brinkborg et al., 2011; Flaxman & Bond, 2010) Psychosis (Bach & Hayes, 2002; Gaudiano & Herbert, 2006) Depression (Bohlmeijer et al., 2011; Forman et al., 2007; Hayes et al., 2011; Zettle & Hayes, 1986; Zettle & Rains, 1989;) Test anxiety (Brown et al., 2011; Zettle, 2003) Trichotillomania (Woods, Wetterneck & Flessner, 2006) Epilepsy (Lundgren, 2004) Obsessive–compulsive disorder (Twohig, Hayes & Masuda, 2006; Twohig et al., 2010) Social anxiety disorder (Dalrymple & Herbert, 2007) Chronic pain (Johnston et al., 2010; McCracken & Eccleston, 2006) Cigarette smoking cessation (Gifford et al., 2004) Diabetes (Gregg et al., 2007) Substance abuse (Hayes et al., 2004; Luoma et al., 2012; Smout et al., 2010) Tinnitus (Hesser, 2009)

9. 2 nd Annual Mentoring and Coaching Research Conference 3-4 July 2012 – Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom www.emccconference.org Evidence for ACT Powers et al. (2009) meta-analysis showed that: There was a clear overall advantage of ACT compared to control conditions (effect size = 0.42) Analysed separately ACT was superior to waiting lists, psychological placebos (effect size = 0.68), and treatment as usual (effect size = 0.42) ACT is now an empirically supported treatment on the American Psychological Association Division 12 list of empirically-based treatments

10. 2 nd Annual Mentoring and Coaching Research Conference 3-4 July 2012 – Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom www.emccconference.org Workshop Active Coaching: Coaching Powered by Acceptance and Commitment Training A professional development programme for executive coaches The fundamentals of Acceptance and Commitment Training How ACT can be integrated into coaching An interactive practical workshop

11. 2 nd Annual Mentoring and Coaching Research Conference 3-4 July 2012 – Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom www.emccconference.org Active Coaching workshop feedback “The workshop offered a profoundly different approach to coaching and innovative ways of dealing with resistance” “A hugely valuable course – definitely have taken on board a number of additional ‘tools’ to add to my coaching toolkit” “I thoroughly enjoyed the way the facilitators embedded the ACT framework in the executive coaching practice” “The workshop was truly inspirational”

12. 2 nd Annual Mentoring and Coaching Research Conference 3-4 July 2012 – Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom www.emccconference.org Potential areas for research The coaching industry struggles to conduct scientific research for ethical reasons Compelling research would involve comparing the outcomes of coachees who received: 1. ACT coaching 2. Alternative coaching e.g. CBT 3. No coaching (control group)

13. 2 nd Annual Mentoring and Coaching Research Conference 3-4 July 2012 – Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom www.emccconference.org References Groom, J. (2009). Mindfulness mentoring and the listening coach. In: Further Techniques for Coaching and Mentoring, by D. Megginson & D. Clutterbuck Harris, R. (2007). The Happiness Trap: Stop struggling Harris, R. (2009). ACT Made Simple: An Easy-To-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Harris, R., & Hayes, S. (2010). The Confidence Gap: A Guide to Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt Hayes, S. C., Luoma, J. B., Bond, F. W., Masuda, A., & Lillis, J. (2006). Acceptance and commitment therapy: Model, processes and outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44, 1-25 Powers, M.B., Zum, M.B., Vording, V.S., & Emmelkamp, P.M.G. (2009). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A Meta-Analytic Review. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 78, 2, 73-80