Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Book: Reclaim Your Life in 7 Weeks
A practical ACT workbook to help you stop overthinking, manage anxiety, and build a meaningful life.
If you’ve been trying to control your thoughts, avoid your feelings, or “fix” yourself—but still feel stuck—you’re not alone.
Reclaim Your Life: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in 7 Weeks is a structured, evidence-based ACT workbook designed to help you change your relationship with your thoughts and emotions so they no longer run your life. Instead of waiting to feel better first, you’ll learn how to live better now—even in the presence of anxiety, intrusive thoughts, or emotional pain.
New to ACT? FAQs:
-
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a research-supported approach that helps you develop psychological flexibility—the ability to experience your thoughts and feelings without being controlled by them, while taking action aligned with your values.
Rather than focusing on eliminating distress, ACT teaches you how to:
Make space for difficult thoughts and emotions
Stop getting stuck in overthinking and avoidance
Reconnect with what truly matters
Take meaningful, values-based action
As explained in the book, pain is a normal part of being human—but suffering is often shaped by how we respond to that pain .
-
This book is for you if you’re:
A therapist interested in learning more about ACT and how to integrate it into your sessions
Someone struggling with anxiety, overthinking, or intrusive thoughts or experiencing depression, burnout, or feeling stuck
Someone dealing with OCD, trauma, or emotional overwhelm
Tired of trying to “fix” yourself without lasting change
Looking for a practical, evidence-based mental health workbook
ACT has been shown to be effective for conditions including anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, and more .
-
Many people get stuck in patterns like:
Overanalyzing or ruminating
Avoiding uncomfortable emotions
Trying to “fix” or control their thoughts
Feeling disconnected from what matters
The problem? These strategies often increase anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion over time.
This ACT book helps you step out of that cycle by teaching you how to:
✔ Notice thoughts without getting hooked by them
✔ Allow emotions without needing to escape them
✔ Reduce avoidance behaviors that keep you stuck
✔ Take action—even when it feels uncomfortable
-
This isn’t just a self-help book—it’s a guided ACT program.
You’ll move through a structured 7-week framework that builds real, lasting change:
Week 1: Your Thoughts Are Not Reality (Cognitive Defusion)
Week 2: Getting Unstuck
Week 3: Mindfulness & Present-Moment Awareness
Week 4: Observing Your Inner Experience (Self-as-Context)
Week 5: Clarifying Your Values
Week 6: Taking Committed ACTion
Week 7: Integrating It All
Each section includes:
Practical ACT exercises
Reflection prompts
Real-life applications
So you can move from understanding → practicing → living it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. Carissa Gustafson is a licensed clinical psychologist based in Los Angeles who specializes in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and maternal mental health.
She supports individuals navigating anxiety, depression, major life transitions, and the emotional complexities of pregnancy, postpartum, infertility, and pregnancy loss.
Dr. Gustafson is Perinatal Mental Health Certified (PMH-C) through Postpartum Support International and has additional training in reproductive medicine through the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) as well as certification in pregnancy and infant loss through Postpartum Support International. In her clinical work, she integrates evidence-based therapies with compassion and practical skill-building to help people develop greater psychological flexibility and build meaningful lives aligned with their values.
She is the author of Reclaim Your Life: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in 7 Weeks, a practical guide designed to help readers develop ACT skills such as mindfulness, acceptance, self-compassion, and values-based action.
Dr. Gustafson provides therapy in person at Village Birth in Pasadena and virtually throughout California.
“You are not your thoughts. You are not your emotions. You are a human being having an experience—and you can learn a new way to relate to it.”
— Dr. Carissa Gustafson
4.7/5 Stars 600+ Reviews on Amazon