User:Russ Harris/sandbox/Dr. Russ Harris

Dr. Russ Harris

Russell “Russ” Harris is an English-born, Australian citizen known for his Acceptance Commitment-based form of psychotherapy. Harris is a medical doctor, therapist, coach, trainer of health professionals and the author of six self-help books, including the international bestseller, The Happiness Trap (which has now launched as an online self-help course for the public).

Early life

Harris was born on 16th October 1966 in Liverpool, England. He graduated from medical school from the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in 1989.

Early Career

After graduating from medical school, Harris worked as a junior doctor in hospitals across England and New Zealand. In 1992, Harris settled in Melbourne, Australia, and began practicing as a GP. During his time as a GP, Harris soon became disenchanted with “writing prescriptions” and increasingly interested in the psychological side of health and wellbeing. Despite having a successful career and a good income, Harris began experiencing a growing sense of dissatisfaction with his own life. He set out on a long ‘journey’ to discover what makes people unhappy, and to understand how to cultivate genuine and lasting happiness. In 2003, Harris discovered Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), which he credits with helping him develop a “deep sense of purpose, fulfillment and meaning”. In 2004, he went to the USA to train with the originators of ACT: Steve Hayes, Kelly Wilson, and Kirk Strosahl. Upon his return to Australia, Harris began writing a self-help book based on the ACT approach to life. Finally released in 2007, this book, The Happiness Trap, went on to become an international best-seller, with over 600,000 copies sold worldwide, and editions in over 30 languages. The last line of the book is often quoted: “Life gives most to those who makes the most of what life gives.”

Today

Harris is an internationally-renowned pioneer, author and trainer in the field of ACT. Since 2005, he has run over 500 workshops around the world, and provided ACT training for over 25,000 health professionals, including therapists, coaches, counsellors, doctors, and psychologists.

He has authored three ACT textbooks, six ACT-based self-help books, four online training courses in ACT for professionals, and in 2017, he launched his first online course for the general public - The Happiness Trap Program.

The Happiness Trap

Following the huge international success of The Happiness Trap book, Harris transformed his work into a powerful 8-week online program. Featuring a wide range of ACT skills and strategies to help people handle difficult thoughts and feelings, live by their values, act more effectively, and engage fully in life, the program helps people to “build genuine happiness from the inside-out”.

Bibliography

Harris has written ten books, including the international bestseller, The Happiness Trap.

Harris’s books include:

The Happiness Trap (self-help)

The Reality Slap (self-help)

The Confidence Gap (self-help) Act with Love (self-help) The Happiness Trap Pocketbook (self-help) ACT Made Simple (textbook) Getting Unstuck in ACT (textbook) The Weight Escape (self-help) Stand Up Strummer (novel) ACT Questions & Answers (textbook – to be released in March 2018)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Harris is widely known for his contributions to the field of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is an empirically-supported model of therapy originally created by Professor Steven C Hayes from the University of Reno, Nevada, and his co-founders, Kelly Wilson and Kirk Strosahl.

ACT gets its name from one of its core messages: accept what is out of your personal control, and commit to action that improves and enriches your life. The aim of ACT is to maximise human potential for a rich, full and meaningful life. ACT (which is pronounced as the word 'act') does this by:

1) Teaching you psychological skills to deal with your painful thoughts and feelings effectively so that they have much less impact and influence over you (these are known as mindfulness skills).

2) Helping you to clarify what is truly important and meaningful to you - i.e. your values. Then teaching you how to use that knowledge to guide, inspire and motivate you to change your life for the better.

The American Psychological Association lists ACT as an evidence-based treatment for: chronic pain, depression, anxiety, OCD, and psychosis.

Teachings

Through his books, seminars, coaching and online courses for professionals and the public, Harris teaches skills and strategies based on the ACT model. His overarching aim is to maximise human potential for a rich and meaningful life.