Your Life, Your Way: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Skills To Help Teens Manage Emotions and Build Resilience

Gr 6 Up–This self-help guide provides step-by-step coping strategies for teens who struggle with social-emotional challenges. Based on acceptance and commitment therapy practices, the text identifies specific actions that will produce desired changes. Part one introduces viewpoint switching skills, which examine life challenges from different perspectives. Part two describes how to use the skills to solve common issues that most teens face on a daily basis. Topics include dealing with anxiety and depression, building relationships, managing bullying, creating a healthy online presence, and increasing self-confidence. Rather than reading all of part two, Ciarrochi and Hayes suggest studying the chapters that are the most personally relevant. Librarians should note that this interactive text offers blank lines, checklists, and charts to write answers to guided questions and reflection sections. Each chapter begins with an inspirational quote from a pop culture figure and ends with a summary. Humorous pen illustrations are featured throughout, and the use of subtitles and bullets keeps the somewhat complex content organized. The conversational, encouraging tone will put readers at ease. However, the many steps involved in the different strategies can be overwhelming. Those who are committed to reading closely and journaling thoughtful responses will get the most out of the text. Younger middle schoolers would benefit from guidance from parents or counselors while reading the book. The authors provide a link to their website with additional resources and videos.