Books and Research

Books


Stop Avoiding Stuff: 25 Microskills to Face Your Fears & Do It Anyway


Drawing on evidence-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), this accessible guide offers 25 microskills to help you face your fears so you can live a truly courageous and meaningful life. With this book, you’ll learn:

  • Why you avoid stuff

  • Tips to increase self-awareness in moments of fear

  • Strategies for untangling from distressing thoughts

  • How to hold the inevitable pain and discomfort of life lightly

  • Ways to connect with your values and take action

We are hardwired to avoid, control, and escape the stuff that makes us uncomfortable. But if you’re ready to stop living scared, the tips and tools in this little book will help you pivot back to what really matters to you.


From Publisher's Weekly:
"Social worker Boone (Mindfulness and Acceptance in Social Work), and psychologists Gregg (Diabetes Lifestyle Book) and Coyne (Stuff That’s Loud), share in this informative work lessons on how to face fear and forge ahead. Each chapter is based on a “microskill,” which the authors define as a way of relating to thoughts, feelings, and circumstances. For example, “Deepening Awareness” means paying attention to internal and external feelings, and “Notice Your Thinking” focuses on one’s ability to understand the process of how one comes to thoughts rather than the thoughts themselves. The authors recommend readers “Let Go of Being Right” by releasing the urge to always “win” in discussions or argument with others, and to determine and live out one’s values by “Making Values a Verb.” Brief exercises (termed “teeny tiny practices”) help readers implement the skills and include writing flow charts for one’s thought process and creating a map of all things one wishes to control. Each lesson can be read on its own, making the volume ideal for dipping in and out of. This delightful, information-packed guide will appeal to self-help readers of all types".


The Diabetes Lifestyle Book

You’ve been diagnosed with diabetes. Now what? Your doctor has given you directions on what you can do to control your blood sugar. Now you need to find a way to commit to smart choices for better health. And you need to deal with some uncomfortable feelings that might arise in the process. This book offers a powerful and proven new approach that can help you make it happen.

Based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), a bold new direction in psychology, these techniques will attempt to help you move past cravings, find motivation to exercise, and manage anxiety that you might feel when you test your blood sugar level. You’ll learn how to embrace the changes you’ll need to make in order to jumpstart your new, healthful lifestyle.


Research

Selected conference and journal, and book chapter projects from last 10 years

Brock, M., & Gregg, J. A. (2019, July). Living fully in the context of death and loss. The Association for Contextual Behavioral Sciences World Conference. Dublin, Ireland.

Snycerski, S., Laraway, S., Gregg, J., Capriotti, M., & Callaghan, G. M. (2018). Implications of Behavioral Narratology for Psychotherapy, Help-Seeking Behavior, and Substance Use. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 41(2), 517-540.


Brock, M., & Gregg, J. A. (2018, July). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Challenging Contexts: Loss, End of Life, and Bereavement. The Association for Contextual Behavioral Sciences World Conference. Montreal, Canada.

Kasl-Godley, J., Gregg, J. A., & Shumay, D. (2017, September). Reconceptualizing the nature of suffering in advanced disease. CSU Institute for Palliative Care National Symposium for Academic Palliative Care Education and Research. San Diego.

White, R. G., Gregg, J., Batten, S., Hayes, L. L., & Kasujja, R. (2017). Contextual Behavioral Science and Global Mental Health: Synergies and opportunities. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 6(3), 245-251.


Shumay, D., Rost, A., & Gregg, J. A. (2016, July). Using ACT to increase psychological flexiblity in cancer patients and survivors. Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. Seattle, WA.


Gregg, J. A., Lillis, J., & Schmidt, E. M. (2015). A functional contextual approach to obesity and related problems. Current Opinion in Psychology, 2, 82-86.

Gregg, J. A. (2014, June). ACT Applications for Cancer Treatment. Association for Contextual Behavioral Sciences World Conference. Minneapolis, MN.


Borovska, S., Dunn, L. B., Gregg, J. A., & Shumay, D. (2014, February). Helping Cancer Survivors Move Beyond Fear: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Concepts, Skills and Research Strategies. American Psycho-Oncology Society. Tampa, FL.


Gregg, J. A., Namekata, M. S., Louie, W. A., & Chancellor-Freeland, C. (2014). Impact of values clarification on cortisol reactivity to an acute stressor. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 3(4), 299-304.


Gregg, J. A. (2013, July). Contextual Behavioral Science in Behavioral Medicine. Presentation at Association for Contextual Behavioral Sciences World Conference. Sydney, Australia.

Gregg, J. A. (2013, July). Living from Inside the Skin: Psychological Flexibility and Physical Self Care. Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. Sydney, Australia.


Gregg, J.A. (2013). Self-Acceptance and Chronic Illness. In Bernard, M.E. (Ed) The

strength of self-acceptance: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Springer.

Dahl, J., Gregg, J. A., & Lillis, J. (2012, July). Acceptance and Values in Behavioral Medicine. Presentation at the Association for Contextual Behavioral Sciences World Conference. Washington, DC.

Gregg, J. A. (2011, October). ACT for Reluctant and Resistant Patients - building motivation, moving toward. Invited Presentation at the 5th Annual Australia New Zealand Contextual Behavioral Sciences Conference. Brisbane, Australia.

Gregg, J.A., Almada, P., & Schmidt, E. (2011). Health behavior problems in diabetes, obesity, and secondary prevention. In McCracken, L. (Ed.) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Approaches in Behavioral Medicine: An Integrative Clinical and Research Guide. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Press.

Gregg, J. A. (2011, October). ACT with chronic and terminal medical conditions: Working with shame, stigma, "willpower"; building valued actions. Invited Presentation at the 5th Annual Australia New Zealand Contextual Behavioral Sciences Conference. Brisbane, Australia.