ACBS Newsletter - March 2016

Chapters and Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

Are you looking for opportunities to be more involved with other members of the ACBS community? Do you have specific interests in topics, treatments, populations, and agendas that you feel deserve more detailed discussion? Would you like to connect with and collaborate with other ACBS members in the same geographic area as you? If so, consider joining an ACBS Chapter or SIG! Chapters are self-governed membership organizations within geographic regions, countries, localities, or language communities that promote CBS values within that area. A list of currently established chapters can be found here. In contrast, SIGs are groups formed to promote more specialized agendas within ACBS, as listed here. To join a Chapter or SIG, log into your ACBS account and access your dashboard. Next, select the "edit your profile" link and add the Chapter or SIG you would like to join. Additionally, we'd like to take this moment to recognize our newest SIG, ACT for the Christian Client, and our newest Chapters based out of Atlantic Canada, Alberta and Hungary.

Methods for Selecting Idiographic Values-Relevant Stimuli

According to many third-wave contextual therapies, an important step toward psychological flexibility is the articulation and clarification of values. However, in both experimental and applied contexts, it can sometimes be difficult to efficiently and effectively identify values that are idiographically relevant to the participant/client. In a recent study, Sandoz and Hebert (2015) evaluated four different methods for selecting values-relevant stimuli, and compared these methods to one another in the extent to which they produced stimulie that were meaningful, evocative, and reminiscent of something of importance to the individual. Of the methods evaluated, the authors concluded that participants writing about their most deeply held values, and circling the ten words in the writing sample that were most representative of their held values was the most effective means of identifying salient values-related stimuli. To read the full published account of the study and learn more about the intervention used, visit the ACBS member portal to JCBS here. If you would like to contribute to JCBS please see our submission information page. If you would like a better resource to cite JCBS content, see our JCBS reference sharing page which includes a downloadable Endnote file for all published and in-press JCBS articles.

World Conference 2016 Pre-Conference Workshops Announced

The official schedule for the pre-conference workshops at World Con in Seattle has been finalized and posted. These workshops will take place June 14-15, and offer clinicians and researchers alike a great opportunity to brush up on their skills. Examples of offerings this year include workshops on utilizing ACT and RFT to enhance therapy with autism, engaging in values work as a means toward self-care and self-compassion, and utilizing language and cognition as a means toward enhancing clincial inventions. Members of all skill levels and research/practice interests will be able to find a workshop that suits their needs. CE credits are also available. Expect therapy role-plays, case presentations, and experiential exercises to supplement the didactic training offered. For more information on the workshop offerings this year, including links to in-depth descriptions of the workshops, learning objectives and presenters, please visit our list of pre-conference workshops. To register for pre-conference workshops, visit our registration page. We look forward to seeing you there!

Posting Articles to the ACBS Website

Did you know that you can upload your recent journal articles to the ACBS website? Doing so is a great way to contribute to the dissemination of CBS research and principles, while also providing an opportunity to put your work in a visible place where other like-minded individuals can easily access them. Step-by-step instructions for posting your journal articles to the ACBS website can be found here. To check if your article has already been posted on the site, or to peruse the available articles (which are freely accessible to ACBS members), check our article database.

Submitting Items to the Newsletter

Do you have something newsworthy for ACBS to share? If you have any ideas for articles or Q&A sessions that you would like to see included in the next ACBS newsletter, please submit them via e-mail to acbsstaff@contextualscience.org. We would love to share your community projects, research findings, outreach programs and other relevant news to the ACBS member base!

Renew Your Membership in ACBS Today!

to be held June 14-19, 2016. Go here for more information.

ACBS Newsletter - July 2016

ACBS Research Development Grant Awardees

It is our pleasure to announce the 2016-2017 ACBS Research Development Grant Awardees. Primary researchers Ahmet Nalbant, M.D., Bakirkoy Research and Training Hospital for Mental Health, Bakirkoy/Istanbul, Turkey, on Do Antipsychotics Have Any Effect on Perspective Taking in Schizophrenia? and Thomas Szabo, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Commit & Act, LLC, Florida Institute of Techology on DARE to Connect: A Pilot Study Using ACT to Foster New Intra-Familial Relationship Skills in Men, were each awarded approximately $5,000 to complete their research projects. Go here to read a summary of their projects.

Largest Conference Yet!

A big thank you to all our members for making our Annual Conference in Seattle such a success! This year's conference was our largest to date, with 992 participants. Let's see if we can top the 1000 milestone next year in Seville, Spain (June 20-25, 2017)! If you'd like to access powerpoints and handouts from the presentations, workshops, panels, and symposia, make sure to visit our powerpoints and handouts page. Or if you're interested in reviewing some of the posters from our poster sessions, please visit our posters page. We are updating these pages as presenters submit their materials, so if you've presented but haven't submitted your materials yet, please email it to: acbsstaff@contextualscience.org with the title of the session and authors in the body of the email.

Committed Action and Procrastination in College Students

Many of us can relate to occasionally procrastinating, putting off work until a later time. A recent study published in JCBS by Gagnon, Dionne, and Pychyl assessed the utility of psychological flexibility processes in predicting the degree to which university students engage in procrastination behaviors. They found that committed action appears to be a robust predictor of procrastinating, accounting for a greater proportion of variance than acceptance, cognitive fusion, present moment awareness, and genral psychological distress. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating behavioral engagement when treating problems associated with procrastination, while also suggesting that helping students identify concrete goals linked to personal values may be critical in overcoming procrastination.

To read the full study, or any other studies published in JCBS, please visit the ACBS member portal to JCBS here. If you would like to contribute to JCBS please see our submission information page. If you would like a better resource to cite JCBS content, see our JCBS reference sharing page which includes a downloadable Endnote file for all published and in-press JCBS articles.

Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) Webinar with Jonathan Kanter, Ph.D.

Thanks to the ACBS Student Special Interest Group (SIG), we have a recorded free webinar available for members who are interested in learning about Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP). This webinar, conducted by Jonathan Kanter, is approximately an hour long, and introduces viewers to the basic principles and processes core to FAP. The webinar also includes transcripts of an early FAP session to help give viewers a sense of how a therapist might get started with a client. A special thanks to Dr. Kanter and the Student SIG for putting this fantastic video together! And for student ACBS members who are interested in getting connected with others, please visit the Student SIG page for information about the SIG and instructions on how to join!

2018 Annual Conference Location and Dates Announced

For those who were unable to attend this year's conference, we have officially announced the 2018 annual conference will be held in Montreal, Quebec! The conference itself will be held from July 24-29, 2018, with the pre-conference workshops taking place July 24-25. Make sure to mark your calendars! (While you're marking your calendar, make sure that Seville, Spain, June 20-25, 2017 is in there as well.)

ACBS website hint of the month

Looking for something to read? Then check out the ACBS professional bookstore! Here you can find classic ACT and RFT titles, as well as the latest releases. All purchases made via the ACBS website help to support our organization.

Get Acquainted With ACBS

Did you know that there are 319 ACBS members who are employed as coaches? We are home to the ACBS Coaching SIG. This SIG is open to anyone interested networking within this Coaching community.

Renew Your Membership in ACBS Today!

To be held June 20-25, 2017. Go here for more information.

ACBS Newsletter - October 2016

Newly Funded NIH Grants using ACT

We're excited to announce a pair of NIH funded grants on ACT for substance abuse related projects. Angela Stotts at the McGovern Medical School in Houston, TX, has received an R34 treatment development grant on Facilitating Treatment Entry and Family Planning in Substance-Using NICU Mothers, assessing the effects of a combined Motivational Interviewing-ACT program in reducing substance abuse and preventing future substance-exposed pregnancies in new mothers with at-risk infants. Secondly, Joy Schmitz, also at the McGovern Medical School, and Angela have received an R01 grant on Developing Adaptive Interventions for Cocaine Cessation and Relapse Prevention, evaluating the effects of combining ACT with contingency management procedures in promoting abstinence from cocaine and preventing relapse. Please join us in congratulating Angela and Joy on landing the grants!

ACT Case Conceptualization and Treatment Planning Webinar with Tim Gordon, MSW

For those of us that are new to therapy, formulating case conceptualizations within an ACT framework can feel like a daunting prospect. Fortunately, through the efforts of the ACBS Student SIG and Tim Gordon, we've posted a free webinar for ACBS members detailing the process of assessing a clinical case within the ACT model. The video provides an example case, and how a therapist might use an ACT conceptualization to inform their treatment. Beyond introducing viewers to the six core processes of ACT, the webinar also provides interesting insights regarding how the ACT model relates to other treatment approaches. If you're interested in watching this, or would like to see the other videos available, head on over to the Student SIG Webinar page. And for student ACBS members who are interested in getting connected with others, please visit the Student SIG page for information about the SIG and instructions on how to join!

Rule-Following and Twister

In ACT, we often urge our clients to be more flexible around the rules they create. But what about those cases when following rules can be helpful? In a study published in JCBS, Dixon, Speelman, Rowsey, and Belisle provided developmentally-disabled children with rules about the names of body parts using words that were and were not familiar to the children (e.g., "head is the same as noggin"). The children then played Twister, and were able to place the correct body part on the appropriate spaces with minimal training. This line of research has important implications on how RFT principles can be used to promote language training among developmentally disabled children.

To read the full study, or any other studies published in JCBS, please visit the ACBS member portal to JCBS here. If you would like to contribute to JCBS please see our submission information pageIf you would like a better resource to cite JCBS content, see our JCBS reference sharing pagewhich includes a downloadable Endnote file for all published and in-press JCBS articles.

New Publication Search Fields

Speaking of publications, we've added some new and exciting functions to our publication database. In addition to the existing APA Citation and Keyword search fields, members can now specify the type of publication that they are looking for (e.g., books, journal articles, dissertations), as well as language! The latter function is especially exciting, as it speaks to the global growth and international presence of our community. In order to build out our database, we are interested in collecting more materials that may be relevant to our members: If you have an article to post (and especially if you have an article written in a non-English language), you can post it onto our website using the instructions found here.

2017 Annual Conference Call for Submissions - Opening 1 November

ACBS is happy to announce the the Call for Submissions for the ACBS World Conference 15 will open on 1 November. ACBS will proudly accept submssions in Spanish as well as English for the conference in Seville, Spain, June 20-25, 2017.
ACBS invita a presentar en español o Inglés para el ACBS World Conference 15 (en español) . Invitamos a sus presentaciones a partir del 1 noviembre.

ACBS Website Hint of the Month

Do you have a question regarding a particularly difficult therapy case? Does learning about RFT make your mind want to explode? Are you looking for pointers or suggestions on a research project? Do you just feel like you're not as connected to the ACBS community as you'd like to be? Consider joining one of our e-mail listservs! The listservs are communities of like-minded individuals who are more than happy to "talk shop" about a broad number of topics, and are a great source of information. For instructions on how to join a listserv, please visit our listserv FAQ page.

Get Acquainted With ACBS

Did you know that ACBS is the proud home to 1,928 student members? Student members are invited to join the ACBS Student SIG. This SIG is open to students in fields related to contextual behavioral science.

Renew Your Membership in ACBS Today!

To be held June 20-25, 2017. Go here for more information.