ACT: Taking Hurt to Hope - Is prosocial behavior a short cut to valuing? Guest Dr Steve Hayes

Welcome to ACT taking hurt to hope. Today, in our final program we are going to continue to talk about prosocial behavior. Remember that Prosocial behaviors are those intended to help other people. Prosocial behavior is characterized by a concern about the rights, feelings and welfare of other people. Behaviors that can be described as prosocial include feeling empathy and concern for others and behaving in ways to help or benefit other people. One of the 6 key processes in ACT is valuing. We have found that it is often quite difficult to ask people what makes them happy or what does a person value. It is quite difficult to find empathy for oneself. On the other hand it is quite easy for a person to feel empathy for others and know instinctively how to help another even using minimal language. This program hopefully will bring some insight into how prosocial behavior may be the quickest path to values when working with ACT.

Our guest today is none other that Dr Steven Hayes is Foundation Professor and Director of Clinical Training at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada Reno, NV. An author of over 35 books and over 500 scientific articles, his career has focused on an analysis of the nature of human language and cognition and the application of this to the understanding and alleviation of human suffering. You can read more about Steve’s work, his many books and current trainings around the world at www.stevenchayes.com.

ACT: Taking Hurt to Hope – Is prosocial behavior a short cut to valuing? Guest Dr Steve Hayes