Steven C. Hayes Ph.D.
Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., is Nevada Foundation Professor Emeritus at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of 47 books and over 700 scientific articles, he has shown in his research how language and thought can lead to human human suffering by fostering the dominance of rigid verbal rules and resulting psychological inflexibility. He originated and codeveloped Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or "ACT" (said as a word, not initials), which is one of the most broadly applicable and highly researched new methods in psychological intervention over the last 20 years. ACT works by establishing more openness, awareness, and values-based life engagement -- the key features of psychological flexibility. His 2019 popular book, A Liberated Mind, tells the personal and science story of psychological flexibility and shows how it applies in nearly every area of living. His original popular book of ACT, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life was featured in Time Magazine among several other major media outlets and, for a time, was the number one best-selling self-help book in the United States. Dr. Hayes has been President of several scientific societies and has received several national awards, such as the Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy and from the Association for Psychological Science, and Google Scholar data ranks him as among the top 30 most cited psychologists in the world (www.webometrics.info/en/node/58).