Russ Harris

Dr Russ Harris is a world-renowned trainer of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT). Russ’s background is in medicine, and as a GP he became increasingly interested in the psychological aspects of health and wellbeing, and increasingly disenchanted with writing prescriptions. Ultimately this interest led to a total career change. He now works in two different, yet complementary roles – as a therapist and a coach.

In 2015, Russ wrote a stress-management protocol for the WHO (World Health Organization) to use in refugee camps around the world, catering for the broadest possible range of trauma-related problems, including PTSD, depression and anxiety disorders. It has so far been implemented to good effect in refugee camps in Syria, Uganda and Turkey, and the impressive results were published in one of the world’s top medical journals, The Lancet.

Since 2005, Russ has run over 800 two-day workshops and provided ACT training for over 50,000 health professionals. He has authored four ACT textbooks (ACT Made Simple, Trauma-Focused ACT, Getting Unstuck in ACT, ACT Questions & Answers), and four ACT-based self-help books (The Happiness Trap, The Reality Slap, The Confidence Gap and ACT with Love). His best-known book, The Happiness Trap, has sold over one million copies worldwide, with translations into more than 30 languages.