Full Course Description

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Step-by-Step

Program Information

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors, Case Managers, Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists, Nurses, Psychologists, Social Workers, and other Mental Health Professionals

Objectives

Demonstrate effective use of the six core processes of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help clients advance psychological flexibility.
Employ clinical techniques for increasing psychological flexibility in clients using ACT.
Utilize acceptance approaches with avoidance problems to strengthen a client’s willingness to have emotions.
Apply clinical skills to help client effectively handle automatic cognitions.
Utilize effective ACT exercises in therapy to aid clients with developing new skills to engage in the present moment and move past struggles.
Assess and clarify a client’s values in order to develop an effective treatment plan and avoid potential clinical problems.
Integrate ACT into different therapeutic styles and methods as an approach to managing symptoms.
Create committed action plans for clients with anxiety disorders to improve level of functioning.
Use metaphors to undermine language-based avoidance repertoires to improve client engagement.
Utilize clinical strategies to develop an ACT-based behavior therapy plan as it relates to treatment outcomes.
Perform emotional, behavioral willingness and exposure techniques with clients to reduce experiential avoidance.
Apply ACT techniques to the treatment of specific disorders including depression, anxiety, trauma and personality disorders.

Outline

The ACT Model

The nature of human suffering
“Healthy normality” is a myth
Language: The double-edged sword
Undermine unhelpful thoughts
Aiming for psychological flexibility and why
The ACT hexagon model

Acceptance

Strengthening a willingness to have emotions
The opposite of acceptance is experiential avoidance
Experiential avoidance throughout the lifespan
Why acceptance is important
Case example: Teenage shyness & hoarding

Defusion

Look at thoughts rather than from thoughts
Deal with automatic thoughts
The power of words
The problem with cognitive fusion
Address CBT-based disputation techniques with defusion
“Taking your mind for a walk” exercise
Case example: Eating disorders & social phobia

Perspective-Taking

Understand the “Self” in ACT
Self-as-content, self-as-perspective, self-as-context
Observer self-exercise
Deal with identity issues
Case examples related to PTSD & childhood sexual trauma

Mindfulness

Contacting the present moment
Why being in the here-and-now is critical for mental health
Relationship between mindlessness and psychopathology
Meditation, mindfulness and mindful action
Exercises for mindful action
Case example: Anger, personality disorders, alcoholism

Values Work

The positive side of language
Identifying core values
Differentiate values and goals
Writing values-based treatment goals
The ethics of values clarification
Establishing the life line
Case example: Heroin addiction, bipolar disorder

Committed Action

Define “commitment” objectively
Integrate evidence-based therapy with ACT
Develop ACT-based behavior therapy treatment plans
Improve behavioral activation with ACT
Accelerate exposure therapy with ACT
Case example: Depression, agoraphobia

Pulling It All Together

Hexaflex model for psychological flexibility
Ask the “ACT Question” for self-help and case conceptualization
Inflexahex model: Diagnosis from an ACT approach
Case example: Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Incorporate ACT into Your Own Approach

Social skills training
Applied Behavior Analysis
Inpatient treatment programs systems
Exposure and ritual prevention
Behavioral activation
Parent management training
Executive coaching

The Mindful Action Plan

ACT simplified
Passengers on the bus: The classic ACT group exercise
How ACT can make you a better therapist

Copyright : 07/07/2016

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): In-Session Videos narrated by Dr. Steven C. Hayes

Program Information

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors, Case Managers, Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists, Nurses, Psychologists, Social Workers, and other Mental Health Professionals

Objectives

Session 1: Facing the Struggle

Apply the core theory and principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) used in clinical practice.
Analyze how "creative hopelessness" lays the groundwork for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Session 2: Control & Acceptance

Prepare clients to accept their thoughts and feelings, and modify their need to control or eliminate them.
Integrate ACT “eyes closed” techniques into your sessions with powerful effects.

Session 3: Cognitive Defusion

Apply cognitive defusion used within clinical practice.
Anticipate common pitfalls with cognitive defusion, and apply methods for recognizing and remedying them.

Session 4: Mindfulness, Self & Contact with the Present Moment

Formulate “eyes-closed” exercises you can integrate into clinical practice.
Generate examples of how to facilitate awareness of the “observing self” with clients.

Session 5: Values & Action

Discriminate between the ACT concepts of values and goals
Modify ACT techniques for increased effectiveness with adolescents

Session 6: Psychological Flexibility

Articulate ways to adapt ACT in brief-therapy settings and situations.
Formulate how to help clients get the most benefit from exposure therapy within the ACT Paradigm.

Outline

Overview of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Define the six core processes of ACT
Discuss treatment techniques used in ACT

Withdrawn client role play

Examine why metaphors can be helpful for clients
Focus positively on what therapy is for
How to handle the client’s lack of interest in feelings and emotions

Concluding remarks from the presenter

How to perform informed consent
Approaches to handle the process of “facing the struggle”