ACT Beyond the Therapy Room: Tools for Navigating Early Career Challenges

Who am I as a therapist? Am I helping my clients? What if I'm not good enough for this work? You're not alone in asking these questions. This training gives you ACT-based tools to quiet your inner critic, build the practice you envisioned, and navigate early career with confidence instead of constant self-doubt.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is more than just a treatment model. It is actually a set of fundamental principles that can guide the development of your practice and your identity as a professional. ACT interventions work by increasing psychological flexibility, or the ability to adapt to challenges. This is done by orienting towards the present moment, being willing to experience uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, and moving towards what matters most to us - our values. This process also involves analyzing how our behaviors function in the context of our lives.

These strategies may sound complex, but this training is all about breaking them down into simple, easy-to-use tools to help you establish your professional identity, including identifying specialty areas, finding your groove and identity as a therapist, and being resilient in the face of stress and burnout. The foundations of ACT also can help navigate ethical and cultural competence dilemmas and can facilitate effective responses to imposter syndrome and your inner critic. Drs. Martin and Costello Whooley, both peer-reviewed ACT trainers, will provide an engaging, interactive workshop blending didactics with small and large group discussion and experiential exercises that attendees can start implementing in their work immediately. Whether you are just starting out or need to “reboot” your practice, this training is for you!

This 2-week course will take place on the following Fridays from 9:00-11:00 AM EST: November 21, December 5. 

Participants will receive 4 CEs following their completion 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. 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.

Shawn Costello Whooley, PsyD is an ACT Peer Reviewed Trainer and licensed psychologist in private practice outside of Baltimore, MD, where she also works as a staff psychologist on the PTSD Clinical Team at the VA Maryland Healthcare Center. She is the owner and founder of Stillpoint Journeys, a coaching and training practice that takes clients and trainees out of the office and into life by using extended hiking trips and other active adventures to experience the change processes of ACT in real time. Dr. Costello Whooley is the co-author of The Inner Critic Workbook: Self-Compassion and Mindfulness Skills to Reduce Feelings of Shame, Build Self-Worth, and Improve Your Life and Relationships.

Additional Program Information:

Target audience: social workers and counselors

Content level: beginner

Learning objectives:

1. Describe 3 ways in which the fundamentals of ACT (psychological flexibility, functional analysis) can be used as a foundation to guide your work.

2. Identify 3 considerations for developing your professional identity.

3. Explain one cultural competency and one ethical consideration related to your professional values.

4. Name at least 2 ways to address professional self-criticism.

Outline and Agenda:

Class 1

9:00 - 10:00 - Using an ACT lens

10:00 - 11:00 - Creating your professional identity

Class 2

9:00 - 10:00 - Navigating your clinical practice

10:00 - 11:00 - Addressing your personal experiences as a clinician, Becoming an Expert

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 $150 for 4 CE credits/hours. Refunds are available for up to seven days prior to the program (this may 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 receive CE credit/hours, participants must log in at the scheduled time, attend the entire program and complete an online evaluation at the end of the program. If you are licensed in Illinois, an additional exam must be requested and completed in order to receive credit for the program.

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

CE credit is currently available for social workers and counselors in all 50 states. All other professionals (including psychologists 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 4 clinical continuing education credits.

Bright Ideas Continuing Education has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7705. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Bright Ideas Continuing Education is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

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.

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