This program is the essential guide to actually using ACT with your clients.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) has long been established as effective in treating clients with a variety of clinical diagnoses.
But learning about the six core processes of ACT and applying those concepts in session are two very different things.
Buy this two-day experiential ACT training course recording, and instead of relearning the basic ACT processes, you’ll leave able to skillfully use ACT to treat your clients.
ACT expert and clinician, Michael C. May, MA, LCPC, will teach you how to overcome common issues clinicians have when using ACT, and he’ll address the most frequently asked questions he receives from other clinicians about implementing ACT in session.
You’ll hone your skills and finish this program able to:
Use ACT to treat your clients, regardless of diagnosis
Seamlessly integrate ACT with other modalities
Troubleshoot & resolve in-session issues
Create your own ACT metaphors & exercises to individualize treatment
Michael C. May, MA, LCPC is a psychotherapist in private practice and an ACT Trainer. He is a founding partner of Compassionate Psychological Care, LLP, a clinic that provides a wide-range of psychological services with offices in Chicago and Highland Park, IL. Within his private practice, his clinical work is focused on anxiety-related presenting concerns, primarily Panic Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Michael is also co-founder of Enriched Couples LLC, a company focused on utilizing applied behavioral science in conjunction with financial literacy training to aid young couples in undermining toxic experiential avoidance and building vital and valued relationships.
Michael has received advanced training in various contextual behavioral approaches to psychotherapy including Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and regularly provides workshops and professional trainings on Acceptance & Commitment Therapy. Michael is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the State of Illinois. He is a member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science and the Association for Behavior Analysis International.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Michael May is the founder of Compassionate Behavioral Healthcare, LLC and the founding & managing partner of Compassionate Psychological Care, LLP. He is the co-founder of Enriched Couples, LLC. Michael May receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Michael May is a member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science and the Association for Behavior Analysis International.
Objectives
Analyze the relationship between behavioral principles and the core ACT psychological flexibility processes as it relates to case conceptualization.
Create a treatment plan based on the processes of psychological flexibility, rather than clinical diagnosis, to improve treatment outcomes.
Evaluate client displays of cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance in a clinical setting.
Construct metaphors to address psychological inflexibility and improve clinical outcomes.
Integrate defusion and cognitive restructuring exercises in session to assist clients in handling automatic cognitions.
Distinguish rule-governed behavior from values-based behavior to inform clinical treatment interventions.
Evaluate the relationship between rule-governed behavior, cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance and its clinical implications.
Integrate ACT processes, such as contact with the present moment, with exposure therapy to improve treatment outcomes.
Utilize values clarification, defusion and acceptance exercises along with behavioral activation to increase values-aligned behaviors and improve client level of functioning.
Demonstrate ways to integrate ACT processes with other modalities, such as skills training or habit reversal training, to improve clinical outcomes.
Employ ACT exercises and metaphors to move beyond clients’ clinical “crisis of the week,” address psychological inflexibility and improve client level of functioning.
Utilize ACT processes, such as acceptance and defusion, to address resistance and improve client engagement.
Outline
THE ACT MODEL: A BRIEF REVIEW
Functional Contextualism
Hexaflex & Inflexahex
Relational Frame Theory (RFT)
Empirical support for ACT
Limitations of the research & potential risks
FAQ 1: “How would I use ACT for…?”
Convert the DSM® into psychological inflexibility
Differentiate topography & function of behaviour
Attend to the ABCs of behaviour
Spot the toxic twins: Fusion & avoidance
Which ACT process are you targeting in session?
Exercises & Demonstrations
Exercise: Functional analysis as mindfulness
Video demo: PTSD
Skills Training: Spot experiential avoidance
FAQ 2: “Does ACT have any metaphors or exercises for…?”
How metaphor functions in ACT
Experiential learning vs. psychoeducation
Key components of ACT metaphors
Create your own metaphors
Exercises & Demonstrations
Exercise: Confront the control agenda
Exercise: Use of embodied metaphors
Exercise: Flexible perspective-taking
Video Demonstration: MDD
Skills Training: Create an ACT Tool-Box
FAQ 3: “Can I use ACT with CBT?”
Cognitive restructuring vs. defusion
How to bring restructuring & defusion together
Create experiential learning for your client
Recognize rule-governed behaviour
Foster behaviours that are in line with values
Pick go-to defusion exercises & metaphors
Exercises & Demonstrations
Exercise: What your words evoke for clients
Exercise: Having vs. wrestling with thoughts
Video Demonstration: OCD
Skills Training: Spotting cognitive fusion
FAQ 4: “Can I integrate ACT with other modalities?”
Exposure Therapy
Should you use the SUDs scale?
Alternatives to SUDS scale
Integrate ACT & exposure for trauma
Merge distress tolerance with exposure
Behavioural Activation
Make behavioural activation experiential
Utilize values to inform activity scheduling
Use defusion to undermine motivation issues
Apply acceptance to erode emotional reasoning
Other Approaches
Skills training for social anxiety
Habit reversal training for compulsive behaviours
Contingency management for substance abuse
Exercises & Demonstrations
Video Demonstration: Panic Disorder
Skills Training: Integrate ACT into your practice
FAQ 5: “The client’s progress has stopped. What should I do?”
This product is part of a bundles which includes special pricing as displayed below.
Additional Participant CPD
Additional Participant CPD must be purchased for each additional viewer. These viewers will watch the video with the main registrant, but will have individual access to course handouts and certification. The standard price of this program includes certification for main viewer.
Satisfaction Guarantee
Your satisfaction is our goal and our guarantee. Concerns should be addressed to info@pesi.co.uk or call 01235847393.
