In episode 273 I interviewed Dr Michael Twohig. Michael is the co-director of the USU ACT Research Group, a licensed psychologist in the state of Utah, and a Professor of Psychology at Utah State University.
In this episode I chat with Michael about his research and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) story, his experience of training under Dr Steven Hayes, what is ACT, why he studied ACT initially as a sole intervention for OCD and what he found, he breakdowns the 8 session ACT protocol he used in his research, we talk about psychological flexibility and why it’s important, we talk about cognitive defusion, integrating ACT with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), how bringing in values into therapy can helpful, some of the metaphors he likes for OCD, and much much more. Hope it helps.
The podcast is made possible by and sponsored by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories
Find out more about Michael:
Lab website: https://www.utahact.com/
Journal on ACT findings for OCD mentioned in the episode: https://www.actmindfully.com.au/upimages/Twohig_et_al._-_2015_-_Exposure_therapy_for_OCD_from_an_acceptance_and_commitment_therapy_(_ACT_)_framework.pdf
Michael’s books: https://amzn.to/3sntqcB
Resources:
Book: Get out of your mind and into your life by Dr Steven Hayes https://amzn.to/3mOQhMY
All the best,
Stu