Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Transcending Traditional Approaches

Presented by Jennifer Patterson, Psy.D., LCPC

On Demand | Available Now

$79.00

6 Hours | Pre-approved for CEU’s

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Description

ON-DEMAND: Recorded footage & course content (certificate, videos, quiz) will be available immediately after purchase. Course content will expire September 15, 2025. Extensions cannot be granted under any circumstances.

In this foundational course, participants will embark on a transformative journey into Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is a third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapy that transcends traditional approaches by seamlessly weaving together the processes of acceptance, mindfulness, and behavior change principles. Through experiential learning and evidence-based techniques, participants will cultivate a profound understanding of ACT and its practical applications.

Join ACT expert and International trainer Jennifer Patterson, Psy.D., LCPC, for this workshop, where you will develop efficient, evidence-based skills, case conceptualization techniques, and powerful strategies that will improve outcomes for the following:

  • Anxiety Issues
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Mood Disorders
  • Substance Abuse
  • Anger Management
  • Eating Disorders
  • Trauma
  • 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

Limitations of the Research and Potential Risks

  • Children and adolescents
  • Acute, florid hallucinations
  • Catatonic depression
  • Individuals with an adverse reaction to mindfulness exercises

Acceptance

  • Strengthening a willingness to have emotions
  • The opposite of acceptance is experiential avoidance
  • Experiential avoidance throughout the lifespan
  • Why acceptance is important

Defusion

  • Look at thoughts rather than from thoughts
  • Coping with automatic thoughts
  • The power of words
  • The problem with cognitive fusion
  • Address CBT-based disputation techniques with defusion

Perspective-Taking

  • Understand the “Self” in ACT
  • Self-as-content, self-as-perspective, self-as-context
  • Observer self-exercise
  • Deal with identity issues

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

Values Work

  • The positive side of language
  • Identifying core values
  • Differentiate values and goals
  • Writing values-based treatment goals
  • The ethics of values clarification

Committed Action

  • Define “commitment” objectively
  • Integrate evidence-based therapy with ACT
  • Develop ACT-based behavior therapy treatment plans
  • Improve behavioral activation with ACT

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

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
  • Develop a deep understanding of the theoretical and philosophical foundation of the ACT model to help clients increase psychological flexibility.
  • Expand the knowledge base of ACT as a contextual behavioral science and how it differs from Cognitive Behavioral therapies.
  • Detect the six psychological inflexible processes that maintain psychological rigidity and understand how they pull clients away from value-based behaviors.
  • Formulate consistent case conceptualizations for ACT to understand avoidance and how it relates to maintaining away moves related to value-based behaviors.
  • Utilize ACT case conceptualizations to prepare evidence-based treatment plans to assist with a cohesive treatment approach.
  • Utilize the six psychological flexible processes in ACT to facilitate emotional openness and increase psychological flexibility in clients.
  • Analyze how ACT attempts to undermine problematic language obstacles and implement clinical skills to assist clients in unhooking themselves from their thoughts.
  • Use metaphors, analogies, and experiential exercises to improve clients’ self-understanding and increase value-based behaviors.
  • Implement ACT evidence-based protocols and processes into treatment for specific disorders, including depression, anxiety, trauma, and personality disorders.

Clinical Professionals: All mental health professionals including, but not limited to Clinical Counsellors, Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Social Workers, Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Hospice and Palliative Care Workers, Youth Workers, Mental Health Workers, Addiction Specialists, Marital & Family Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, Vocational Rehabilitation Consultants, School Counsellors, Behaviour Specialists, Rehabilitation Consultants, Geriatric Specialists, and all professionals looking to enhance their therapeutic skills.

Jennifer Patterson, Psy.D., LCPC, has a mission to offer evidence based psychotherapy to help others live full and abundant lives. She is the clinical director of the MidAmerican Psychological Institute (MPI) in Joliet, Illinois, and established MPI’s Clinic for Compulsive Behaviors which aims to use evidenced-based treatment for behaviors like hoarding, self-injury and emotional eating. At MPI she supervises pre-doctoral candidates using ACT, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP). Dr. Patterson also provides consultation for rehabilitation and pain patients at Silver Cross Hospital.

Dr. Patterson received both her Master’s and Doctoral degrees from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology and is an expert in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and empirically supported treatments. She is an ACT trainer who leads workshops across the country and served as the vice-president of the Chicago Chapter for the Association for Contextual Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Patterson is a featured psychologist on “Hoarding: Buried Alive” on The Learning Channel and an author for Psychology Today’s blog When More Isn’t Enough.

  • Canadian Psychological Association
    The Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW) and the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers (NLASW) accept CPA-approved continuing education credits

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