Sharpening your ACT Skills From the Inside Out

Are you interested in digging deeper into the ACT model? Do you have clients with whom you feel stuck? Do you need a refresher on ways to revitalize your therapy sessions? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this training is for you!

In this 3-part series on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, participants will learn to use the ACT model to undermine clients’ rigidity and avoidance by being fully present and with strategic use of language. We will explore ways of broadening flexibility with one’s self-concept and facilitating effective perspective-taking. The training also will focus on using metaphors to keep in-person and telehealth sessions vibrant and interactive and bridging cultural divides through present-moment awareness.

The first session will include a review of the ACT core constructs and is best suited for those with at least a basic familiarity of the model. Sessions 2 and 3 are intended for those at an intermediate to advanced level with ACT. (If you are new to ACT model, but would like to participate in the training, we recommend reading one of the following books prior to the course: The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris, ACT Made Simple by Russ Harris, or Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life by Steve Hayes.)

Dr. Martin is a peer-reviewed ACT trainer who strives to provide participants with foundational to advanced-level skills while keeping her instruction enlivening and active. Attendees will participate in large group didactics, experiential exercises, and small-group practice. A variety of resources and handouts will be shared so you can start utilizing new tools immediately. The second and third sessions of the training are best suited for individuals with some level of familiarity with the ACT model.

This 3-week course will take place on the following Fridays from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM EST: January 10th, January 24th, and January 31st.

Participants will receive 6 CEs following their conclusion of the course.

Staci Martin, PhD is a licensed psychologist who specializes in using mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to treat adolescents and adults with medical conditions at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. Her research focuses on ACT interventions for people with chronic pain and parents of children with health conditions. She is the Principal Investigator of two ACT-based protocols and has published over 80 peer reviewed publications. Dr. Martin is a past board member of the Association of Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS), President Emeritus of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of ACBS Board, and current chair of the ACBS Plenary committee. She also is an associate editor of the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. Further, she is on the Advisory Board of the Diversity Working Group of the NCI Pediatric Oncology Branch. She has been conducting ACT trainings since 2014 and is recognized as a Peer-Reviewed ACT Trainer. Her other training topics have focused on ACT for health and wellness, maximizing the power of mindfulness in sessions with clients, ethics, and cultural competence.

Additional Program Information:

Target audience: social workers, mental health professionals

Content level: Intermediate/Advanced

Learning objectives:

1. Describe the difference between content and process in client sessions and explain how focusing on content can reinforce avoidance.

2. Identify 2-3 present-moment techniques that can be integrated into therapy sessions.

3. Explain how to facilitate effective perspective-taking.

4. Describe how to create an action plan to incorporate process skills into your work.

5. Identify at least two techniques that can be used with challenging clients.

Outline and Agenda:

Class 1

• Identifying when clients are stuck in “content” and how this leads to avoidance and
  inflexibility in and out of sessions
• Using ACT core constructs (e.g., mindfulness, acceptance) to help clients become more
  flexible and more connected with their values

Class 2

• Facilitating effective perspective-taking
• Adapting metaphors and present moment techniques with clients from diverse cultural
  backgrounds

Class 3

• Generating new therapeutic options with “stuck” and/or challenging clients
• Creating your own action plan to incorporate process skills in your practice

Course interaction and system requirements:

This live webinar hosted on Zoom is fully interactive. Attendees may ask and answer questions throughout the presentation (using their microphones and/or the chat option). System requirements for Zoom can be viewed at https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-requirements-for-PC-and-Mac.

Fee and registration:

Cost is $225-$250 for 6 credits. Refunds are available for up to seven days prior to the program (this does not include TicketTailor fees). After that, we offer credit that can be applied to a future program. Registration is open until the course is full. In some cases, we will enable a wait list option once the course is full.

Course completion and CE info:

To attend CE credit, social workers must log in at the scheduled time, attend the entire program and complete an online evaluation at the end of the program.

Certificates will be emailed out within 7 business days following receipt of evaluation.

CE credit is currently available for social workers in all 50 states. All other professionals (including psychologists, counselors, and marriage and family therapists) must confirm CE approval with their state board.

Bright Ideas Continuing Education, provider # 1757, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 11/19/2024-11/19/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 18 clinical continuing education credits.

Bright Ideas Continuing Education is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0781.

​Bright Ideas Continuing Education is also authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners in Maryland to provide social work continuing education.

Our credits are also accepted by the New Jersey Board of Social Work Examiners.

If you have any questions, concerns or special accommodation requests, please contact us at 410-575-3870 or info@brightideasceus.com.