Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Cultivating Psychological Wellness

Acceptance and mindfulness-based practices are rapidly making their way into mental health care, medicine and society — to alleviate human suffering and also to nurture psychological health and wellness. This body of work offers a fresh perspective on psychological suffering and powerful clinical strategies that support meaningful life changes. In this workshop for mental health professionals, you will learn about one particular approach and set of evidence-based practices called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT balances mindfulness and acceptance processes with commitment and behavior change in the service of living a more vital life.

Through lectures, live and video demonstrations, and practical experiential exercises, learn new ways to help your clients grow and live meaningfully without first having to defeat or eliminate sources of emotional and psychological pain. This work can be challenging for both therapists and clients because it calls on each to stand in difficult places and open up to that difficulty, both personally and professionally. Therapists are encouraged to engage with the material at a personal level, as it applies to their own lives, and also in the context of their mental health work. Mental health professionals, including graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, are invited to attend. Familiarity with ACT is not required.

Recommended reading: Forsyth and Eifert, The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety: A Guide to Breaking Free from Anxiety, Phobias, and Worry Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, 2nd Edition; Harris, ACT Made Simple.

($75 additional tuition will be added to the workshop cost)

For continuing education syllabus, see https://www.esalen.org/acceptance-commitment-therapy.

CE credit (24.5 units) for psychologists; see leader.

CE credit for MFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and LEPs.

CE credit for nurses.