Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) For Anxiety Disorders: A Nuts and Bolts Workshop With John P. Forsyth & Georg H. Eifert
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) For Anxiety Disorders
Level: Beginner to intermediate. Low familiarity with the material.
Presenters and Affiliation: John P. Forsyth, Ph.D., University at Albany, SUNY; and Georg H. Eifert, Ph.D., Chapman University
This 3 hour workshop presents a unified Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) treatment protocol for persons suffering from any of the major anxiety disorders. ACT is based on the view that most psychological suffering is the result of fusion with literal thinking and experiential avoidance getting in the way of value-guided action. ACT teaches clients how to open up to the world within, to connect with their values, and to carry their history forward into a more vital and valued life. Clients learn that inflexible attempts to control anxiety are a problem, not a solution. ACT for anxiety disorders helps clients to:
1. explore the workability of acceptance and willingness in the context of anxiety;
2. develop greater psychological flexibility by practicing mindful acceptance and willingness when experiencing aversive sensations, thoughts, and feelings;
3. identify valued life directions that have been put on hold in the service of managing anxiety;
4. put those values into committed action, whether anxiety shows up or not.
Experiential exercises and values-guided behavioral activation will be emphasized throughout the workshop. We will give live demonstrations of techniques and provide workshop participants with clinical worksheets and other tools to take home.
Participants will learn:
1. how to make experiential avoidance and valued living the explicit treatment targets;
2. how to integrate experiential exercises, metaphors, and defusion techniques within an integrative therapy framework to foster acceptance as an alternative context for symptom-control oriented interventions (cognitive and exposure-based strategies);
3. ways to help clients move in the direction of their chosen values and life goals.
Who Should Attend:
Psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and other mental health professionals working with individuals with anxiety disorders as well as researchers interesting in studying the role of experiential avoidance in anxiety disorders.
How to Register:
Registration information is available at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) website.
Recommended Readings:
- 1. Eifert, G. H., & Forsyth, J. P. (2005) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for anxiety disorders: A practitioner's treatment guide to using mindfulness, acceptance, and values-based behavior change strategies. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
2. Hayes, S. C. (2004a). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Relational Frame Theory, and the third wave of behavior therapy. Behavior Therapy, 35, 639-665.
3. Orsillo, S. M., Roemer, L., Lerner, J. B., & Tull, M. T. (2004). Acceptance, mindfulness, and cognitive-behavioral therapy: Comparisons, contrasts, and application to anxiety. In S. C. Hayes, V. M., Follette, & M. M. Linehan (Eds.), Mindfulness and acceptance: Expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition (pp. 66-95). New York: Guilford Press.
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Upcoming Community Events
- 3-Day Eugene Intro and Skill Building with Kelly Wilson(Event)(4 days)
- Lancaster, PA--ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Powerful Life Change(Event)(9 days)
- King of Prussia, PA--ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Powerful Life Change(Event)(10 days)
- Cycle de Formation ACT Lyon, France Nov 2008-Mars 2009(Event)(10 days)
- Cherry Hill, NJ--ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Powerful Life Change(Event)(11 days)
- ACT: Using Mindfulness and Values to Make Powerful Life Change - Robyn Walser -Bel Air/West LA, California(Event)(12 days)
- ACT Interest Group, Sheffield, UK(Event)(18 days)
- Cycle de Formation ACT Lyon, France Nov 2008-Mars 2009(Event)(24 days)
- Vervolgcursus Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Blooming, Bergen (NH)(Event)(25 days)
- ACT Training at the Albert Ellis Institute, NYC with DJ Moran(Event)(26 days)
- "Acceptance and Mindfulness in Clinical Practice" Steven C Hayes, Århus, Denmark 3.-4. of february 2009(Event)(29 days)
- Cycle de Formation ACT Lyon, France Nov 2008-Mars 2009(Event)(52 days)
- Introductiecursus Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - Bergen, Holland(Event)(53 days)
- La nouvelle génération de thérapie cognitive et comportementale : la théorie et la pratique - Frédérick Dionne, Ph.D.- Montreal (Event)(53 days)
- Workshop-Atelier ACT - Paris (2 jours)(Event)(60 days)
- Erfahrungsorientierter Einführungsworkshop in Lenzburg, Schweiz, mit Jan Martz und Rainer Sonntag(Event)(60 days)
- Evidence-Based Treatment Conference - Las Vegas, NV(Event)(63 days)
- Cycle de Formation ACT Lyon, France Nov 2008-Mars 2009(Event)(66 days)
- Dover, New Hampshire -- Making Bold Moves: Enhancing Your Practice with Acceptance & Commitment Therapy(Event)(75 days)
- Introductiecursus Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - Bergen, Holland(Event)(81 days)
- Awakening to Mindfulness Conference - San Diego, CA(Event)(87 days)
- 3-Day in Sydney: Skill Building and Case Conceptualization with Kelly Wilson(Event)(99 days)
- 3-Day in Brisbane: Skill Building and Case Conceptualization with Kelly Wilson(Event)(103 days)
- 3-Day in Melbourne: Skill Building and Case Conceptualization with Kelly Wilson(Event)(107 days)
- La nouvelle génération de thérapie cognitive et comportementale : la théorie et la pratique, par Frédérick Dionne, Ph.D. (Event)(142 days)
- ACT introductiecursus Utrecht - Netherlands(Event)(144 days)
- Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment - Steve Hayes - Greater Hartford, CT(Event)(151 days)
- Kelly Wilson: Acceptance & Commitment Therapy - Combined Introduction and Skill Building Addictions Workshop(Event)(169 days)
- Pre-Conference Experiential Workshops (Enschede, The Netherlands)(Event)(175 days)
- ACBS World Conference III - Enschede, The Netherlands(Event)(176 days)
- Using ACT to Help your Clients Get Out of Their Minds and into Their Life - Steve Hayes - Eastham, Massachusetts(Event)(217 days)
