Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and other "third-wave" behavioral approaches are changing the way many view psychopathology and processes of psychotherapeutic change. Eifert and Forsyth's ACT for Anxiety Disorders is an engaging and easy-to-comprehend book that should serve as a great introduction for those interested in learning more. With both integrative discussion of the theory behind this work and detailed clinical guidelines, it is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to incorporate mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches into his or her clinical work and/or research. Students consistently praise this book's readability and relevance; especially appreciated are the handouts that may be tailored to the specifics of a given client or target problem.

In the wake of the growing popularity of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), a number of books have been written that detail the ACT philosophy and approach to therapy. However, none is better than the recently published Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anxiety Disorders by Georg H. Eifert and John P. Forsyth. Although the book is focused on treating anxiety disorders, the principles and techniques that are discussed are so far reaching that they are pertinent to the treatment of other types of psychopathology. Thus, this book is simply not just a `must read' for those who specialize in treating anxiety disorders but rather it is a book from which any psychotherapist at any level could benefit. What sets this book apart from others that describe the ACT and other like-minded approaches to therapy is that the authors have made the concepts easily digestible and the text effortless to read. At the same time, however, the authors have managed to keep the philosophy and approach undiluted. The techniques and "how-tos" are also presented in caring detail and integrated along with guidelines for case conceptualization. Another asset of the book is that the authors make every attempt to ground their approach in the state of the art psychological science. Not all "how-to" therapy books are as successful as this one in translating science into practice.
The book is divided into three sections. The first section entails a brief discussion of the ACT approach as well as an overview of the anxiety disorders and how more traditional cognitive-behavioral approaches conceptualize and treat anxiety disorders. In the next section of the book, the construct of anxiety and the findings from previous research are reframed in a manner that is consistent with ACT. The distinction between what is changeable (a person's overt behavior) and what is not (what happens beneath the skin) is also given some discussion in this section. The final section of the book is a detailed protocol that can be used to treat anxiety disorders. The authors nicely take the reader through the protocol step by step, from treatment orientation through the practicing of mindfulness-type exercises to value-guided action.
All in all, Eifert and Forsyth's Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anxiety Disorders is a terrific piece of work that both clinicians and researchers will undoubtedly find useful in testing basic assumptions about human psychological functioning, informing treatment development efforts, and evaluating the helpfulness of ACT-oriented approaches. This book offers important direction and perpetuates the sense of hopefulness and excitement that we are, once and for all, on the verge of ameliorating human suffering.