People Soup - psychology@work

ACT for Acting with Dr Ben Askew

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Episode notes

Hi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 39 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. 

P Soupers - I'm continuing my chat with Dr Ben Askew - he's an acting teacher, writer and director. If you haven't listened to Part one - where we find out more about Ben and some pivotal moments in his life - I'd recommend you pause and go and have a listen.

In this episode you'll hear more about the ways Ben uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or ACT in a theatrical environment - breaking it down into three parts - people, plays and process. We also chat about his paper - called "Towards or Not Towards: Using the Act Matrix as a psychological tool in the analysis and interpretation of dramatic texts and characters." How does Hamlet help us explore the human condition through the ACT lens?And...there's a cracking takeaway.


People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a way that’s practical, accessible and fun. We're all about Unlocking Workplace Potential with expert perspectives from Contextual Behavioural Science.

Another first for Season 5 is that I'm adding a transcript, wherever possible. There is a caveat - this transcript is largely generated by Artificial Intelligence, I have corrected many errors but I won't have captured them all! You can also find the shownotes by clicking on notes, keep scrolling for all the useful links.

You can find all the details of my ACT in the Workplace Train the Trainer Program over on our partner's website, Contextual Consulting.

The discount code for 20% off the Program is PSOUP20

I'm honoured to have the opportunity to speak at the Association for Business Psychology on 6 February from 6-7pm. My presentation is entitled - How behavioural science can support the cultivation of authentic leadership. If you're curious about Contextual Behavioural Science and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy then please do join me - it's free for members of the ABP and you can find all the details here.


Read about our Chisi Awards from #365daysofcompassion for Best Podcast

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