A fun and engaging “coping toolkit” to help kids ages 8 to 12 face life’s challenges, manage emotions, and thrive!
Kids today are experiencing alarming rates of mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, stress, and trauma. The good news is there are skills they can learn now to gain psychological flexibility, regulate emotions, and cultivate the resilience needed to navigate life’s many storms. This timely and much-needed workbook can help.
In The ACT Workbook for Kids, Tamar D. Black offers fun activities grounded in evidence-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help kids deal with worry, sadness, and anger. The exercises in this workbook are based on the processes of the ACT Kidflex a simplified version of the ACT Hexaflex and help kids work through the difficult thoughts and feelings that can arise from anxiety, depression, and stress. The workbook also includes tons of kid-friendly worksheets, crossword and word search puzzles, body-based practices, and arts and crafts that kids can do by themselves or with a parent, counselor, or clinician.
Most importantly, the skills in this workbook will help kids balance their emotions at home, at school, and in other social situations such as going to parties, being with friends, and extracurricular activities. No matter what the situation, children can use these quick and simple strategies whenever they feel worried, sad, angry, stressed, or are struggling with self-esteem.
In these increasingly challenging times, kids and teens need mental health resources more than ever. With more than 1.6 million copies sold worldwide, Instant Help Books are easy to use, proven-effective, and recommended by therapists.
About the Authors
Tamar D. Black, PhD, is an educational and developmental psychologist in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She is a school psychologist, and runs a private practice working with children, adolescents, young adults, and parents. She has extensive experience providing clinical supervision to early-career and highly experienced psychologists. She also provides training in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to clinicians and teachers in using ACT with children and adolescents, and using ACT in schools.
Russ Harris is an internationally acclaimed acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) trainer, and author of the best-selling ACT-based self-help book, The Happiness Trap, which has sold more than one million copies and been published in thirty languages. He is widely renowned for his ability to teach ACT in a way that is simple, clear, and fun-yet extremely practical.
Industry Reviews
"A helpful tool for youth ages eight to twelve, and their parents. The workbook uses story examples to show kids how to address difficult thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. Readers are guided through mindfulness, support building, self-compassion, and values identification as they discover they are more than their experience. This is a must-have book for prevention and intervention!"
--Amy R. Murrell, PhD, coauthor of The Joy of Parenting; To Be With Me; and The Becca Epps Series on Bending Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors--Amy R. Murrell, PhD
"The ACT Workbook for Kids is an amazing book that is fun and engaging. It is a must-have book for children and therapists."
--Ben Sedley, clinical psychologist, and author of Stuff That Sucks--Ben Sedley
"The ACT Workbook for Kids is the fun, engaging, and helpful workbook I've been waiting for in my practice and in my own family!"
--Christopher Willard, PsyD, faculty at Harvard Medical School, and author of Growing Up Mindful--Christopher Willard, PsyD
"An awesome book specifically tailored for children ages eight to twelve. Through relatable stories, this workbook offers simple, practical activities that will help kids navigate their worry, sadness, anger, and other intense emotions. Whether used independently or alongside a parent or therapist, the exercises are a transformative tool to empower kids to deal with their thoughts and feelings with greater awareness, effectiveness, and self-kindness. Bravo to Tamar for providing a gift that promises to contribute throughout the course of the developmental period and beyond."
--Steven C. Hayes, PhD, co-originator of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)--Steven C. Hayes, PhD
"An invaluable workbook that offers engaging activities and relatable scenarios to help children better understand and manage their emotions. This essential resource for parents, educators, and therapists provides gentle and creative guidance, encouraging kids to become more resilient and self-aware. A highly recommended tool for children ages eight to twelve, and their caregivers."
--Mavis Tsai, PhD, cocreator of functional analytic psychotherapy; and founder of the Awareness, Courage & Love Global Project--Mavis Tsai, PhD
"Just what clinicians who work with children need: a beautifully designed, practical, easy, and delightful romp through kid-sized ACT skills. I suspect that the activities in this workbook will be so much fun that kids will barely notice they are learning substantial skills to help them navigate life's storms and challenges mindfully--with openness to learn from their emotions, and trust in their ability to do hard things that they care about."
--Lisa W. Coyne, PhD, faculty at Harvard Medical School, and coauthor of Stuff That's Loud and Stop Avoiding Stuff --Lisa W. Coyne, PhD
"There's no getting around it--working with strong feelings and thoughts is hard! In this wonderful book, Tamar Black translates the core processes of ACT into a delightful buffet of activities that are deep, helpful, and--dare I say it--fun. This isn't a book you read, it's a book you do. And it's a book that will benefit all children who encounter it. Highly recommended!"
--Russell Kolts, PhD, author of CFT Made Simple, An Open-Hearted Life, and Experiencing Compassion-Focused Therapy from the Inside Out--Russell Kolts, PhD
"This book is an absolute gem. It has made me realize just how much I needed it when I was a child. Heartwarming, easy to read, and incredibly helpful--it caters to kids, therapists, teachers, parent figures, and anyone seeking to connect with their inner child. Get ready to embark on a transformative journey with the assurance that you are in exceptionally capable hands."
--Rikke Kjelgaard, psychologist, author, and ACT trainer--Rikke Kjelgaard
"This book is an absolute treasure chest, full of fun and engaging exercises to help kids learn from and understand even the most challenging experiences. Like an interactive game, this book is creative, powerful, and fun."
--Janina Scarlet, PhD, award-winning author of Superhero Therapy--Janina Scarlet, PhD
"This delightful workbook is filled with activities that support counseling sessions with kids. The reader will find fun, engaging, and easy-to-use experiences. Kids can practice expressing their feelings and thoughts while learning to be aware of ineffective and effective responses. If you're a busy professional, you'll find the worksheets perfect to integrate into your work."
--Louise Hayes, PhD, clinical psychologist; founder of DNA-V; and author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life for Teens, Your Life Your Way, and The Thriving Adolescent--Louise Hayes, PhD
"What a lovely book! The ACT Workbook for Kids is not only beautifully constructed and illustrated, but also an inviting and approachable learning experience for kids. It is a wonderful journey from front to back where children can discover and open up to their emotions, and work on what is important to them. A wonderful dash of learning self-compassion is also part of this must-have book for kids!"
--Robyn D. Walser, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist; author of The Heart of ACT; and coauthor of several books, including Learning ACT and The ACT Workbook for Anger--Robyn D. Walser, PhD
