I will aim to regularly update this section so do check back in soon – in the meantime, here’s some resources for starters
Books about ACT
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Clinician’s Guide for Supporting Parents – Koa Whittingham and Lisa Coyne
Becoming Mum – Koa Whittingham
Postpartum depression and anxiety: the definitive recovery and survival guide by Sonya Watson and Kathryn Whitehead
Get out of your mind and into your life – Steve Hayes
The joy of parenting by Lisa Coyne
Mindfulness for parents; everyday blessings by Myla and Jon Kabat Zinn
The Thriving Adolescent – Louise Hayes & Joseph Ciarrochi
Get out of your mind & into your life for teens – Hayes, Ciarrochi & Bailey
Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens – Gina Biegel
ACT made simple – Russ Harris
The big book of ACT metaphors – Stoddard & Afari
Mindful Motherhood: Practical Tools for Staying Sane During Pregnancy and Your Child’s First Year by Cassandra Vieten
Mindfulness for young children books –
Mindful monkey, happy panda by Kerry Lee MacLean
Peaceful Piggy Meditation by Kerry Lee MacLean
Moody Cow Meditates by Kerry Lee MacLean
The Still Quiet Place CDs by Amy Saltzman
Books about Compassion Focussed Therapy
The Compassionate Mind by Paul Gilbert
Mindful compassion; how the science of compassion can help you understand your emotions, live in the present and connect deeply with others by Paul Gilbert and Choden (Buddhist monk)
Compassion Focused Therapy for Dummies by Mary Welford
Self-kindness for mums by Charlotte Hartley-Jones – “If you are a mum who has ever judged yourself harshly, been snappy at your partner, wondered if you are doing the right thing or compared yourself negatively to other mums then this book is for you!” Quote from Amazon – this is an e-book which is available for the Kindle.
The Compassionate Mind Guide to Overcoming Anxiety by Dennis Tirch- This book is written mainly from the perspective of compassion-focused therapy, but also includes techniques from acceptance and commitment therapy. This might be particularly helpful for people who are both anxious and overly self-critical.
The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Managing Your Anger by Russell Kolts– A book based on compassion-focused therapy on how to bring compassion to the pain of anger and feeling threatened.
The compassionate mind guide to recovering from trauma and PTSD by Deborah Lee – A book based on compassion-focused therapy on how to bring compassion to people who have survived trauma and abuse.
The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Ending Overeating by Ken Goss and Paul Gilbert- A book based on compassion-focused therapy for people who binge or suffer from disordered eating.
The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Building Social Confidence by Lynne Henderson – A book based on compassion-focused therapy for people who are shy or suffer from social anxiety.
A fuller list is available to browse using the following link –
https://contextualscience.org/amazon_self_help_bookstore
Mindfulness apps
Mind the Bump
Smiling Mind
Head Space
Websites
Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Third Sector Service Directory
Provides a searchable online directory of Scottish charities and third sector organisations which offer pregnant women and new parents mental health support including counselling
Website of the association of contextual behavioural science – the biggest collection of ACT resources and information and strongly tied to research and the evidence base
https://contextualscience.org/resources_for_helping_children
Links to the acbs resources page for resources for the public looking for mental health help for children consistent with ACT during corona virus which is ongoing at the time of writing
https://contextualscience.org/act_with_children_adolescents_parents_teachers_etc
The above link might be particularly of interest to any professionals looking for more information on using ACT with children, teenagers, parents or educators.
thriving adolescent.com
Louise Hayes website has lots of helpful resources for adolescents and their parents on using ACT to address mental health and wellbeing challenges which are common during that time
Resources
Contextual consulting organise training and ACT supervision for therapists and also offer therapy for people who need it. They have an excellent collection of free resources for learning more about ACT including MP3 audio exercises, handouts and video clips.
https://www.mindedforfamilies.org.uk
Offers e-learning on a range of mental health topics affecting children and families including mindfulness
https://www.connect-pshe.org/?fbclid=IwAR1sbJWtTJjXUjaDTKGQMVoe7kXwznI_DaiAtHN1yKi3T447r7ZKxK8jvbg
The above is a well-being program targeted at primary schools and aimed at children aged 4-11. It includes information and resources from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to support everyday well-being and prevent mental health problems in this age group.
About the Book
Kristin Neff has developed a website with information and resources on developing self-compassion
Mumsnet is a great resource for practical and helpful information that can sometimes be hard to get hold of when you need it most. I’ve often been surprised that what I want to know about is only covered online on mumset – particularly true for miscarriage.
https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/en/Resources/Overview
A great set of self help resources, resources for looking after family members and resources for professionals that complement using an ACT approach
https://www.babcp.com/Default.aspx
If you’re in the UK and don’t want to access free therapy on the NHS for any reason, the BABCP website may be a good place to start in looking privately for a therapist
Podcasts
Welcome
Free resource – four clinical psychologists who talk about applying psychological ideas to general wellbeing. They have episodes on parenting such as “Happier Parenting” and “Educating our kids at home” which might be of interest if you’ve enjoyed reading this site.
Edinburgh Local Resources
https://www.facebook.com/mumswalkmidlothian/
This is a peer support walking group for mums with babies or children of any age who are experiencing mental health difficulties
Home
A group founded by Edinburgh mums with experience of perinatal mental health difficulties. The group offers online support during covid-19 and prior to that offered weekly peer group meetings and a monthly birth and perinatal trauma meeting. Juno also have a Facebook page.
Midlothian Access Point is a service for anyone living in Midlothian between the ages of 18-65 who is looking to improve their wellbeing. Midlothian Access Point can provide information about resources, groups and other services that can help.
Maternal Mental Health Scotland – another invaluable resource
https://maternalmentalhealthscotland.org.uk/
Welcome to the Pregnancy and Parents Centre
The pregnancy and parents centre offer a Motherspace group for mums of babies under the age of about 6 months (or whenever they learn to move enough to knock cups of tea on the floor over). I loved going to Motherspace when I had my first baby and it was a key part of my journey to figuring out what kind of mum I wanted to be and connecting with other mums. The Pregnancy and Parents centre also host Music with Jackie which I have taken my daughter to since she was a baby and still enjoy now with both my children. I’ve also previously attended pregnancy yoga there which was a huge help in preparing for birth, and also baby yoga which was invaluable in building confidence in baby handling as a new mum. In short, the PPC has been a sort of second home for me since my pregnancy with my daughter (who is now 3). I can’t recommend them highly enough.
https://www.birthtraumascotland.com/
Birth Trauma Scotland may be a helpful resource if you are experiencing fear of childbirth, recovering from a traumatic birth experience. The service is run by midwives who are passionate about raising awareness of perinatal trauma. They have training in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) which is an evidence based approach to treating trauma responses among other helpful techniques.
http://www.homelinkfamilysupport.org/
Offers strengths based support at home to families with children under the age of 5.
Engage Psychology – Dalkeith based clinical psychologist specialising in postnatal depression, trauma and complicated grief
http://engagepsychology.co.uk/
Tricia Murray – Edinburgh based therapist specialising in supporting overwhelmed mums
http://triciamurray.co.uk/
Cross Reach – great online resources and a centre in Edinburgh too
www.crossreach.org.uk
Bumps,Bairns and Beyond – a global partner of World Maternal Mental Health Day and an official signatory of the SAMH mental health charter for physical activity and sport
Annie Breen – Nutritional Therapist – Midlothian based nutritionist and coach specialising in supporting women negotiate the transition into motherhood
Mens SHARE Midlothian – an amazing local group supporting any man with mental health challenges, because Dads get postnatal depression too
https://www.health-in-mind.org.uk/services/mens_share_project_in_midlothian/d40/
NB if you know of any resources I haven’t mentioned but think I should, just get in touch with the details and I’ll be more than happy to add them.
Mummy ACT 