How to work with children and their families from an ACT-perspective?
Hi!
I'm a beginner when it comes to ACT but has been working as a psychologist at a child psychiatric clinic in Sweden since 2000. I'm quite open to all kinds of theoretical perspectives and different techniques as long as I and my patients find them useful. Mostly I've been into systemic/family therapy and CBT.
A couple a weeks ago I attented a beginners course in ACT and I realized that I could agree on everything I learned about it, both intellectually and emotionally, which hasnt happened to me before. I dont know if I thats a good thing though, since Ive always believed in keeping a critical mind on what youre doing...;-).
Anyway, I would like to start applying my new ACT-perspective in my work with the children and families that I see, but havent found so much material about ACT on children/families, almost everything that Ive read concern adults. I havent been searching desperately for information though, Im trying this way first!
Maybe there's no practical difference but I feel a bit confused on how to translate the methods so that I feel they are more suitable for 'my' kids and family-settings. So my question is now, if anyone could help me with information about if there is, and in that case, where to find articles, books, homepages, courses etc on how to work with children and families from an ACT perspective. Anyone who has own experience?
Id be very thankful for any reply!
Sincerly,
Maj Sjogren, Ronneby, Sweden
User login
Upcoming Community Events
- No Cost Introductory call to ACT Telephone Class(Event)(3 days)
- ACT Telephone Training – 6 sessions (December 3, 2008 – March, 2009)(Event)(11 days)
- Cycle de Formation ACT Lyon, France Nov 2008-Mars 2009(Event)(12 days)
- Burlington, VT--ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Powerful Life Change(Event)(13 days)
- Acceptance & Mindfulness in Clinical Practice, Steve Hayes - Oregon(Event)(13 days)
- ACT in ITALY Workshop Acceptance and Commitment Therapy nella pratica clinica: Acceptance e Defusion(Event)(13 days)
- Pittsburgh, PA - Introduction to ACT and ACT Case Conceptualization with DJ Moran(Event)(14 days)
- ACT Curso Avanzado, Madrid, Spain(Event)(14 days)
- Portland, ME--ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Powerful Life Change(Event)(16 days)
- Bangor, ME--ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Powerful Life Change(Event)(17 days)
- Manchester, NH--ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Powerful Life Change(Event)(18 days)
- Brief Therapy Conference - San Diego(Event)(19 days)
- Mini-atelier ACT - AFTCC (mini-workshop Paris)(Event)(20 days)
- Cycle de Formation ACT Lyon, France Nov 2008-Mars 2009(Event)(26 days)
- 3-Day Eugene Intro and Skill Building with Kelly Wilson(Event)(48 days)
- Lancaster, PA--ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Powerful Life Change(Event)(53 days)
- King of Prussia, PA--ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Powerful Life Change(Event)(54 days)
- Cycle de Formation ACT Lyon, France Nov 2008-Mars 2009(Event)(54 days)
- Cherry Hill, NJ--ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Powerful Life Change(Event)(55 days)
- Cycle de Formation ACT Lyon, France Nov 2008-Mars 2009(Event)(68 days)
- Vervolgcursus Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Blooming, Bergen (NH)(Event)(69 days)
- ACT Training at the Albert Ellis Institute, NYC with DJ Moran(Event)(70 days)
- Cycle de Formation ACT Lyon, France Nov 2008-Mars 2009(Event)(96 days)
- Introductiecursus Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - Bergen, Holland(Event)(97 days)
- Cycle de Formation ACT Lyon, France Nov 2008-Mars 2009(Event)(110 days)
- Introductiecursus Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - Bergen, Holland(Event)(125 days)
- ACT introductiecursus Utrecht - Netherlands(Event)(188 days)
ACT for children and adolescents
Hi Maj,
Laurie Greco at Vanderbilt University is perhaps the source you are looking for. She has developed some remarkable programs for teens and children using ACT (and I presume she will share them generously with you, as she did with me, if you contact her) as well as most of the relevant measurement instruments, such as the AFQ-Y and the WAM-C/A. She has worked closely with Annie Murrell--who wrote the chapter on children, teens and their parents in the 2004 Practical Guide to ACT, edited by Hayes and Strosahl (a great starting point)--as well as with Lisa Coyne.
Hope this helps.
Best,
Koke
children
Hello Maj!
We'll have an interview with Rickard Wicksell soon and we're talking about differences in working with children and adults.
www.act-forum.se
The interview will be available in a week or so, although only in Swedish.
He's writing in an upcoming book called: Acceptance and Mindfulness Interventions for Children, Adolescents, and Families. I'm not sure when it will be released.
//Tore Gustafsson
ACT with children
There is unfortunately little out there regarding ACT with children. Amy Murrell has written, in addition to other things, a protocol for working with children using ACT. It is on the ACBS site. I just returned from the WorldConII conference. I presented a short talk on "Introducing ACT Concepts through Play Therapy for Children." I put some basic ACT-consistent metaphors into play techniques. I would be happy to email that to you, if that might be helpful.
Resources for working with children and their families
There is an interesting article in the Practical Guide to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. I have lent the book out and can’t remember the reference. I do remember that I thought it would be useful though
You will also find a number of things on this site, many of which you can download. You just have to look a bit. I would search the publications section. Mind you I have had trouble finding articles I knew were there when using the search facility. I suggest just keep trying various search combinations, or even trolling through the list. I know there is an article by Greco et al on children and anxiety, and a few papers by Blackledge.
I am sure others who work in the area (I don’t) will jump in with suggestions, this might be a start though.
Jim Hegarty
Acceptance of...
We had a thread either here or on the Yahoo Group a while back discussing some of the issues in connecting ACT with systemic family therapy thinking.
Basically while ACT focuses on the context within the individual, a family therapist will want to broaden the scope of the context to include other people, events and so on. In addition to accepting private events, we would be talking about acceptance of 'public events?'such as 'what my spouse said or did'. It works the same way, but taking into account the broadened context we realize that there are interactive variables in addition to thoughts and feelings experienced by the individual.
I can choose to choose my own actions based on the valued direction I have chosen, and do not have to be blown about in the wind of someone else's emotional storm, for example. Accepting a scream from my child, I let go of the scream, and choose my response or lack of response based on the valued direction I have already chosen, rather than feeling that I must respond to the scream in some "automatic" way.
I may be veering into my own preference for mindfulness awareness training, but I believe it is consistent with ACT to use metaphors or mindfulness practice to help to notice and let go of "automatic" thinking or responding, regardless of whether the initial stimulus was something in my mind, or something on my couch, or at my kitchen table.
Greg R