122: Steven C Hayes

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This week we talk to Steven C Hayes about getting out of our minds and into our lives

Steven C Hayes is Nevada Foundation Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada. He is an author of over 35 books and over 500 scientific articles. He is considered one of the founders of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

In 1992 he was listed by the Institute for Scientific Information as the 30th “highest impact” psychologist in the world. His work has been recognized by several awards including the Exemplary Contributions to Basic Behavioral Research and Its Applications from Division 25 of APA, the Impact of Science on Application award from the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

He is best known for his book Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

In This Interview, Steven C Hayes and I Discuss:

The One You Feed parable
His book, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life
That you know if your thoughts are good or bad by the fruits that they bear
The ACT approach to therapy
The difference between pain and suffering
The importance of putting the human mind on a leash
That suffering comes from when we mishandle the present moment, and we amplify certain thoughts and feelings
The meaning of Cognitive Fusion: when we can look only from our thoughts and not at our thoughts
The importance of and various types of contemplative practice
Various diffusion techniques (listed in a free episode download!)
The concept and practice of experiential avoidance
The full impact of acting for “short term gains with long term pains”
The idea of creating larger behavioral patterns
The role of values based action