ACT for Anxiety Disorders: Transforming Anxious Suffering Into a More Vital Life with John P. Forsyth- Vancouver
British Columbia Psychological Association Summer Psychology Conference
This is a one-day workshop describing the application of ACT for anxious persons.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
This workshop presents a unified Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, pronounced as one word) treatment protocol for persons suffering from any of the major anxiety disorders. ACT is a newer third-generation evidence-based behavior therapy that balances mindfulness and acceptance processes with commitment and behavior change processes. Within ACT, anxiety and fear are not problems because of their form, frequency, or intensity. Rather, anxiety disorders are thought to result from the application of excessive and inflexible thought and emotion regulation strategies (control, suppression, avoidance, escape) where they are unnecessary, unworkable in the long-run, and get in the way of life activities that clients care deeply about.
ACT, therefore, is about undermining the emotion regulation agenda itself via strategies that foster greater experiential and psychological flexibility. In the process, clients learn that inflexible attempts to manage and control anxiety are the problem, not a solution. And, they learn that there is another way into their lives that does not require them to think and feel well (meaning less anxious) first in order to live well. This is accomplished in treatment by helping clients to:
(a) confront the costs of experiential avoidance (i.e., anxiety management and control);
(b) learn new and more compassionate ways of relating with their unpleasant thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations using mindfulness and acceptance-based strategies;
(c) clarify their values (i.e., what they care deeply about) while nurturing willingness to be with unpleasant feelings and thoughts; and
(d) fostering actions that move them in directions that are consistent with their values.
In short, ACT teaches clients how to be with their hurts and do what works – to live well, richly, and meaningfully, without first having to master and control anxiety and other sources of emotional and psychological pain.
ACT is a process-guided approach to psychological suffering and its alleviation, not a set of intervention technologies matched to specific DSM disorders. Thus, this introductory workshop will build on the ACT model and illustrate its application with an eye on processes that feed and maintain all the major anxiety disorders. It is intended for mental health professionals and graduate students interested in learning more about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
ACT experiential exercises (e.g., acceptance, mindfulness) and value-guided behavioral activation strategies will be emphasized throughout the workshop. Some techniques will be demonstrated, and participants will have opportunities to try them out too. Clinical worksheets and other tools will be provided.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Attendees Will Learn:1. The ACT model of human suffering. 2. How to make experiential avoidance and valued living the explicit treatment targets; 3. How to integrate experiential exercises, metaphors, and mindfulness-defusion techniques to foster acceptance as an alternative to symptom mastery and control-oriented interventions; 4. How to help anxious clients balance acceptance and change while moving in the direction of their chosen values and life goals.
More details regarding the workshop and registration can be found by opening the attached pdf program flyer (see below). Or look here: www.psychologists.bc.ca/summerconferencepresenters.pdf
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