2-day Advanced Workshop: Transforming Anxious Suffering Into a Vital Life Using ACT- John Forsyth- Perth, Australia
Workshop Description -- Perth Monday July 21 and Tues July 22, 2008
This advanced 2-day clinical workshop will cover the practical application of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, said as one word) for persons suffering from any of the major anxiety disorders and related concerns (e.g., anger, depression). ACT is a newer third-generation evidence-based behavior therapy that balances mindfulness and acceptance processes with commitment and behavior change processes.
Within the ACT model, anxiety and fear are not problems because of their form, frequency, or intensity. Rather, anxiety disorders are thought to result from the excessive and inflexible application of thought and emotion regulation strategies (control, suppression, avoidance, escape) where they are unnecessary, don’t work in the long-run, and get in the way of activities that clients care deeply about. This model, in turn, is supported by several emerging lines of research showing that excessive emotion regulation (i.e., experiential avoidance) narrows behavioral options and tends to increase undesired psychological and emotional content. Worse, excessive emotion regulation is, by definition, time and energy away from more vital and important life activities. It is a core process that transforms normative painful thoughts and emotions (e.g., anxiety, fear, painful memories) into life shattering problems.
ACT, therefore, is about undermining the emotion regulation agenda itself via strategies (e.g., mindfulness, defusion) that foster greater experiential and psychological flexibility. 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 defeat 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 advanced workshop will build on the ACT case conceptualization model and illustrate its practical application with an eye on processes that feed and maintain all the major anxiety disorders.
This advanced workshop with include a mix of didactic and experiential activities, with more emphasis on the experiential (hands on activities). Participants ought to have some familiarity with ACT by having done background reading and preferably by having attended at least 1 introductory ACT workshop with John Forsyth or other ACT trainers. Over the course of 2-days, ACT experiential exercises (e.g., acceptance, mindfulness, defusion) and value-guided change strategies will be demonstrated and practiced in dyads and small groups. Participants will be encouraged (but never forced) to engage the material at a personal level, meaning as it applies to their own lives, and then also in the context of their clinical work. Clinical worksheets and other practical tools will be provided. Participants are asked to commit to the full 2-days to derive maximum benefit.
Workshop Programme
Day 1
• The ACT Model & Case Conceptualization
When and how emotional pain turns into human suffering.
• Weakening the Control Agenda & Letting Go
Control as the problem, not a solution.
• What Do I Want Out of This One Crazy Life?
Values clarification & the barriers that get in the way of vital action
Day 2
● Acceptance, Mindfulness, & Defusion
Showing up to discomfort (and life) as it is
● Talking Care of Old Wounds
Nurturing forgiveness & kindness
• Mindful Exposure & Action
Moving with hurts and doing what works
• Bringing it All Together
Living well is the prize
Workshop Objectives & Benefits
From this workshop, participants will learn:
• How to readily conceptualize anxiety and related clinical concerns within an ACT framework;
• How to ensure that experiential avoidance and valued living are the explicit targets of treatment;
• How to integrate experiential exercises, metaphors, and mindfulness-defusion techniques seamlessly into their clinical work;
• New metaphors and mindfulness exercises to foster compassion, kindness, and greater experiential and psychological flexibility (both therapist and client);
• How to help anxious clients balance acceptance and change while moving in the direction of their chosen values and life goals;
• How to apply ACT flexibly and appropriately while also gaining insight in how not to do ACT.
Registration
To register, contact CPM Training and Consulting at http://www.cpmservices.org/
See also attached flyer for further details and registration information. Seats are limited.
Recommended Readings
Forsyth, J. P., & Eifert, G. H. (2007). The mindfulness and acceptance workbook for anxiety: A guide to breaking free from anxiety, phobias, and worry using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
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.
Hayes, S. C., Follette, V. M., & Linehan, M. M. (Eds.) (2004). Mindfulness and acceptance: Expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition. New York: Guilford.
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Upcoming Community Events
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