ACBS LMIC International Conference 2023

17 November 2023

Virtual Conference

Please go here to see your timezone in comparison to the live conference time zone.

The ACBS Developing Nations Committee (DNC) and various Chapters and stakeholders proudly present the inaugural ACBS LMIC International Conference (ALIC). This event aims to collectively unite professionals, researchers, and practitioners from low-middle-income countries (LMICs) to enhance psychological well-being and promote evidence-based interventions. This conference provides a unique platform for exchanging ideas, collaborating, and exploring innovative approaches to behaviour change in LMICs settings. The conference aims to bring together contextual science practitioners, researchers and leaders from LMICs to strengthen the practice of contextual sciences internationally.

The organisers
The organisers of this conference consist of members of the DNC and members from various chapters and affiliates within developing countries.

The purpose
Two common feedbacks often pop up during discussions with practitioners from developing nations: the difficulties in accessing international resources due to limitations of logistics and costs and the differences in time zones often unfavourable to developing nations. This virtual conference is organised with those two pieces of feedback in mind. The conference is intentionally priced at an affordable low cost for participation. The novel experimental format of 24 hours is also chosen to allow every participant from different time zones to be involved with the live conference. Recordings of the events will also be provided to participants after the conference.

The funding
Everyone involved in the organising of the conference does so voluntarily. No honorarium is provided. All collected funds will be channelled to DNC training funds and various chapters within developing nations to support future activities within developing nations.

The networking
Aside from the opportunity to learn and interact with esteemed speakers, there will also be scientific and networking activities within the conference. The scientific activities aim to provide a low-barrier platform for researchers to share their work on an international level. As for networking opportunities, this is a chance for participants to connect with other like-minded partitioners worldwide to share experiences and skills and build friendships.

Conference Booklet/Schedule

The presentations

• Panel: Mujeres Apoyando Mujeres:Explorando los Desafios Actuales con Flexibilidad y Compasión (Panel: Women Supporting Women: Exploring Today's Challenges with Flexibility and Compassion) - Peru Chapter Board (Vanessa del Aguila, Margot Osorio, Paola Saavedra, Guilia Mendoza)
• El terapeuta ACT en el dolor crónico - Maria Jose Lami
• All Appetitive All the Time: Convolving Breadth and Flexibility of Functional Relations - Emily Sandoz
• Shaping Bravery in an Age of Anxiety: Empowering Flexible Youth to Shape Our Future - Lisa Coyne
• Afrontando el Desafio : Cuando un Paciente no te Cae Bien" - Victor Fabris
• Bibliometric Analysis as a Mapping Tool for the Contextual Behaviour Science Research Landscape - Walton Wider
• Un sueño Colectivo Construyendo una Comunidad Basada en Valores (A Collective Dream Building a Community Based on Values) - Mexico chapter
• Incorporando la Ciencia Contextual Conductual en la Curricula Escolar (Incorporating Contextual Behavioral Science into the School Curriculum) - Jorge Everardo Aguilar
• IBCT: an ACT Consistent Couples Approach - Nathaniel Chua
• ACT for Severe Mental Disorders: Theoretical Background and Clinical Experience - Turkiye Chapter (Sevinç Ulusoy, Denizhan Ramakan, Merve Terzioğlu, Şengül İlkay)
• Application of ACT on Chinese Skeleton Team to Prepare Winter Olympic Games - Shousen Xu
• Self-Narrative Style and Case Conceptualisation - Yan Zong
• ACT for Perinatal Health: A Two-Country Development and Cultural Adaptation Model - Cerith Waters, Nurfarahin Musa, Nicholas Pang
• Is it possible to have low cost and high scale interventions for the most marginalised? - Claudette Foley, Farahnaz Mohibi, Omid Standard, Michaele Saban-Bernaur, and Dafne Morroni.
• Process Based Therapy & ACT (tentative topic) - Steven Hayes
• ACT Group Therapy Experience for middle eastern LAMIC country - Fady Safwat
• Training non-specialist healthcare staff in ACT based approaches in low resource setting: The Ultra Brief Psychological Intervention Course - Wendy Shoesmith
• Relational Frame Theory and The Self in Therapy - Louise McHugh
• Relational Approach to ACT - Huoyuan Luo

The workshops

• Using Functional Contextualism in Your Therapy Sessions Miranda Morris & Paulo Bozza
• Evocar en contexto. Potenciando las intervenciones de las terapias contextuales mediante el establecimiento de un espacio evocativo. German Teti
• ACT in society Michaele Terena Saban-Bernauer/Helen Maia
• El uso de la Psicoterapia Analítico Funcional con Víctima de Violencia con la Pareja: Una propuesta Amanda Muñoz
• Interlocking Behavioral Contigencies: utilizing basic CBS principles to empower your effectiveness in the context of the therapeutic relationship Raul Vaz Manzione
• El Hexaflex desde el Análisis de la Conducta Clínica. Una introducción. Daniel Granados
• Presentación 1"Reflexiones sobre la relación terapéutica desde una mirada contextual" (formado en TCC y en ACT) Bolivia Affiliate
• Presentación 2 “La rumia como primera respuesta en patrones inflexibles establecidos” (Maestría en Terapias Contextuales) Bolivia Affiliate
• Presentacion 3 “Desarrollo de la comunidad de terapeutas contextuales en Bolivia” (MSc Sports and Exercise Psychology, entrenado en TCC y ACT) Bolivia Affiliate
• Estrategias para tratar el Trauma por Abuso Sexual Carolina Fernández
• ACT en Adicciones (ACT in Adictions) Ivan Lizarraga
• Promoviendo la Conexión y Flexibilidad en el Terapeuta (Promoting Connection and Flexibility in the Therapist) Grupo Portland de Perú Chapter
• Finding Meaning in Pain: The Role of Values in Therapy Farah Gulamoydeen
• "The Ecological Self: Embodying 'Self as Context' to Effectively Address the Multiple Global Crises of the Unraveling Socio-Economic World Order." ("El yo ecológico: encarnar el 'yo como contexto' para abordar eficazmente las múltiples crisis globales del orden mundial socioeconómico que se deshace".) Margot Osorio & Martin Willis

Registration Fee based on country of residence

Tier 1 $50 USD

Tier 2 $25 USD

Tier 3 $10 USD

Please Note - Conference registration closed on 10th November 2023, 00:01a.m. (GMT8+)

ACBS World Conference 2020 - Alison Stapleton, University College Dublin

"As a self-funded PhD student with a passion for knowledge transfer and exchange, receiving the ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship gave me space to fully engage in the ACBS World Conference. Rather than having to divide my time between conference participation and my fulltime job, the ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship allowed me to focus fully and connect with the values underlying my participation in ACBSWC18, namely dissemination, collaboration, and fun. Thanks to the ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship I was able to present two posters, an IGNITE, an oral presentation, AND my first ever Folly! I have benefitted immensely from the ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship both personally and professionally, having formed new connections with labs around the world and also received insightful feedback on my current research. The ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship took my ACBSWC18 experience to the next level, allowing me to immerse myself fully without needing to worry financially.

ACBS is dedicated to supporting all its members and I can honestly say that the ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship gave me the springboard I needed as an early career self-funded researcher." 

2021 Grant Recipient:

Maria Hamdani, University of Akron (USA) and her colleagues (Dr. Vickie Coleman Gallagher, Dr. Grace H. C. Huang and Dr. Kelly Yu-Hsin Liao) are proud to be the recipients of the first ACBS Foundation Grant for their research on Psychological Flexibility and Adaptive Job and Family Behaviors of Resettled Syrian and Ukranian Refugees in USA.

"Unlike past studies of refugee experiences, our study examines the role of psychological flexibility in transition issues at the advanced stages of refugee work and family life in their new country. This grant will extend our ongoing research to support refugee wellness, self-determination, employment success, and their family's overall health and wellbeing. As researchers across the College of Business Administration, College of Education, and Department of Psychology, the Foundation Grant will strengthen our collaboration between the two universities and the local resettlement agencies, to build a holistic view of the refugee crisis, support the community, and attract additional funding resources for future research,"---Dr. Hamdani

Award Recipients for the ACBS Virtual World Conference 2021: Jin Xiaohuan, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China and Pinelopi Konstantinou, University of Cyprus, Cyprus

The goal of the ACBS Foundation is to support existing activities within ACBS and explore areas for future development. One step in moving towards this goal has been to create the ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship, which provides two outstanding students complimentary registration to attend the ACBS World Conference.

Jin Xiaohuan, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China 

"As a PhD student from China which is classified as upper-middle-income economies, I am very grateful to receive ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship. The scholarship is not only as financial support to fund my registration fee to fully engage in the ACBS World Conference, but also as spiritual support to encourage me to keep my passion in CBS research and clinical practice.

The ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship gave me an opportunity to fully focus on ACBS Virtual conference 2021, in which I have learned a lot regarding the theories, techniques, delivery methods and effective tools of ACT in a series of settings for a series of different populations. I have met so many excellent experts in ACT, RFT and CBS. With this opportunity, I was able to present an oral presentation related to ACT with parents of children with health conditions and communicate with other scholars in this field.

The ACBS Virtual conference 2021 funded by the ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship benefitted me a lot, taking my knowledge, skills, and insight of ACT to a new level, which will continue to help my research program. It also provided a platform to meet so many expert scholars from all over the world."

Pinelopi Konstantinou, University of Cyprus, Cyprus 

It was my honour to be awarded for the ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship to attend the ACBS World Conference 2021. The ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship helped me to fully engage in the ACBS conference and thus expand my knowledge on ACT and improve both as a clinical psychologist and a researcher. I have benefitted immensely from the ACBS Foundation Scholarship as I was able to present a poster on providing recommendations to other professionals who are interested in conducting digital-based research. I received useful feedback and insight on my research, and I had the opportunity to build my professional network by connecting with experienced clinicians and researchers in ACT.

Thanks to the ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship I was able to attend to a wide variety of symposiums, workshops and panels, and I left fully inspired with many new ideas for future studies in health and clinical psychology. As an early-career and self-funded researcher, the ACBS Foundation Scholarship helped me to expand my knowledge and improve my clinical and research skills, and I am confident that the ACBS community can keep me motivated throughout my career.
 

2022 Grant Recipient:

Wenqian ZHAO, PhD Candidate of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong SAR, China) and her supervisors (Prof. Wai Tong CHIEN and Prof. Yuen Yu CHONG) are proud to be the recipients of the 2022 ACBS Foundation Grant for Miss ZHAO’s PhD research on Effectiveness of online ACT-based program for breast cancer survivors on improving body image disturbance.

"We combined the nursing techniques (i.e., health education) with ACT techniques in our intervention to examine the effectiveness of ACT-based intervention on improving body image disturbance of breast cancer survivors. This grant will support our ongoing research to help breast cancer survivors on improving their perceived body image, emotional problems and dysfunctions during the treatment and/or rehabilitation. As a video-conferencing program, the Foundation Grant will strengthen feasibility and acceptability of the intervention (especially the internet utilization) during the whole research, to establish an accessible, sustainable online platform for telemedicine nursing service; promote the physical, psychological and social rehabilitation of breast cancer survivors; and attract more attention and funding resources for future research on those patients and also other populations with the similar body image concerns."

Grant Report - October 2023

Objectives:

This study aimed to assess the immediate (T1) and three-month (T2) post-intervention effectiveness of a video-conferencing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based group intervention program, conducted in real-time, on improving body image disturbance among breast cancer survivors. The intervention program was compared to a control group receiving breast cancer education only. The specific objectives of the study were to evaluate the effectiveness of the video-conferencing ACT-based group intervention program on the following outcomes at T1 and T2:

• Perceived body image, including measures of body dissatisfaction and body appreciation.
• Psychological flexibility, which refers to the ability to adaptively respond to internal experiences and engage in values-based actions.
• Body image-related emotions, encompassing depressive and anxiety symptoms.
• Body image-related dysfunctions, including sexual function and overall quality of life.

Outputs and Deliverables:

With the support of this grant, Dr. ZHAO completed the main RCT in her Ph.D. programme in Feb 2023. A PhD thesis containing the findings in this RCT was completed and submitted to the Chinese University of Hong Kong in July 2023. 

The results showed no significant interaction effects in overall and all dimensions of body dissatisfaction, body appreciation, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and psychological flexibility in both the ITT and PP analyses. Only a significant interaction effect was found in the orgasm dimension of sexual function in PP analysis at three-month post-intervention and the general social well-being dimension of quality of life in ITT analysis at immediate post-intervention when compared with the control group. These non-significant results were likely to be explained by 1) the lack of involvement of their significant person (e.g., partner) that had impacts on the participants' body image, 2) the additional psychological burdens caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, 3) stigma and avoiding attitudes to mental problems in Chinese culture; and 4). weakness in group counselling skills of the interventionist. 
We are preparing a manuscript of this RCT for publication to an international peer-reviewed journal. The abstract of this manuscript is going to be submitted to the coming 2024 ACBS world conference.

Impact and benefits to the researchers, CBS, and society at large?

This project demonstrates the advantages of multidisciplinary cooperation. The experts engaged in the intervention development of this project include psychotherapists, oncologists, and nurses. Their valuable advice and participation provided different angles to observe the same question, increasing the feasibility and acceptability of our intervention protocol. 

In this project, students participated and were encouraged to apply CBS to more fields. For example, two research assistants (undergraduate students) expressed great interest in CBS and would like to design a CBS-based programme as  their master's projects in hypertension and diabetes patients:  "Psychological flexibility may help patients maintain health-promoting behaviours with less stress and worries. "

Clinical nurses who participated in our program were also encouraged to receive related CBS training, for example, mindfulness therapy and use these strategies in their daily work: "I have been trying to help patients ease their pre-surgery anxiety through conversations, but it doesn't seem to work. Maybe I can try taking them with me to do mindful breathing and meditation exercises in the future. "

In addition to patients, their families also received help from our health booklets and expressed willingness to do CBS exercises together: "I read the booklets you gave my mother and I feel like some of the exercises are perfect for us to do together. This can help me understand more about her inner thoughts and feelings. I thought I could do something for her too. "

For the development and extension of CBS, this project provides evidence and support for nurses on the feasibility of applying CBS-based approaches in their areas, such as oncology nursing care. Supervised by the supervisors and ACT trainer, the self-rating ACT Core Competency score of Dr. ZHAO (i.e., registered nurse) ranged from 4.0 (i.e., Distinguishing the Conceptualized Self from Self-as-context) to 6.5 (i.e., Defining Valued Directions).  This demonstrated a medium level of intervention competency of a nurse in implementing a group ACT-based intervention, which was feasible to reach significant intervention results but needed further improvement in more practices. We also recommended involving psychotherapy and psychoeducation in the oncology nursing speciality training to provide mental health care and support.

For society at large, this project attracted more attention from not only the patients themselves, but also the medical workers, families, and even society such as workplaces to breast cancer patients' body image problems. On the one hand, breast cancer patients pay more active attention to and improve their mental health and can achieve comprehensive physical and psychological recovery better and faster. On the other hand, this can help promote related research and policies, such as how to solve the re-employment difficulties and social discrimination faced by breast cancer patients due to physical disabilities after treatment. If these issues receive more attention and are well addressed, it will help reduce the burden of breast cancer faced by society as a whole.
 

Award Recipients for the ACBS World Conference 2022: Zacharias Christensen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark and Jiayin Ruan, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China

The goal of the ACBS Foundation is to support existing activities within ACBS and explore areas for future development. One step in moving towards this goal has been to create the ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship, which provides two outstanding students complimentary registration to attend the ACBS World Conference.                                                                                   

Zacharias Christensen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark      

2023 Grant Recipient:

Dafne Morroni, Clinical Psychology PhD Candidate of the University of Cyprus (Nicosia, Cyprus) and her supervisor (Dr. Maria Karekla) are proud to be the recipients of the 2023 ACBS Foundation Grant for Miss Morroni’s PhD research on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Unaccompanied Minors.  

For this project, the Self-Help Plus (SH+) protocol (World Health Organization, 2021) which has been successfully implemented in adult refugees, was adapted for adolescents from 13- 18 years old. A four-week ACT group intervention is currently being carried out with unaccompanied minors in shelters in major cities across the country. It is anticipated that the ACT group intervention will improve the minors’ psychological wellbeing, augment prosocial behaviour, and enhance quality of life. The Foundation Grant will be funding translation and printing of therapy materials as well as interpreters for the intervention. The Foundation Grant will aid in establishing feasibility and acceptability of ACT in unaccompanied minors. We hope that the support of the Foundation Grant will lead to increased interest and funding resources for future research with this underserved and vulnerable population.

Grant Report - May 2024

Unaccompanied minors (UM) are a highly vulnerable refugee subgroup as they face several challenges at a critical point in their physical and psychosocial development without the support of a parent or caregiver. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is effective for the treatment of trauma survivors and for vulnerable refugee groups. Although ACT is theoretically pertinent to the refugee population, the empirical evidence is still in its infancy.

The present project investigated whether ACT would be beneficial to UM in shelters in Cyprus. Prior to commencing the project, a systematic review and qualitative research synthesis examined the evidence of effectiveness and acceptability of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and third-wave approaches (i.e., ACT) in improving the quality of life and psychological symptoms of UM. Third wave studies showed preliminary evidence for improvements in psychological flexibility and mindfulness in UM, as well as improvements in psychological symptoms. The qualitative synthesis demonstrated that CBT and third wave interventions are acceptable, create safety and cultivate a sense of togetherness in UM.  

Based on the findings from the systematic review, a cluster randomized controlled trial was carried out in six shelters across Cyprus. 101 UM participated in the trial (49 males, 52 females), aged between 13 and 18 years old (M age=15.97, SD=1.23). Shelters were randomly assigned to either a four-session ACT-based treatment group or wait-list control group. Participants completed self-report measures at pre-intervention, post-intervention, 1-month, and 3-months follow-up. Self-report measures assessed quality of life, psychological flexibility, psychological symptoms. Statistically significant improvements were observed for psychological flexibility at post-intervention and 1-month follow-up in the treatment group. Statistically significant improvements were also observed for stress, anxiety, and depression in both the treatment and control groups. Gender differences were also observed in this study. Specifically, female UM seemed to drive the changes observed in the treatment group for psychological flexibility, indicating initial evidence of gender differences in this population.

Award Recipients for the ACBS World Conference 2023: Yass Radd, City University of London and Xu Wang, Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The goal of the ACBS Foundation is to support existing activities within ACBS and explore areas for future development. One step in moving towards this goal has been to create the ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship, which provides two outstanding students complimentary registration to attend the ACBS World Conference.      

Xu Wang, Chinese University of Hong Kong

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to ACBS for awarding me the 2023 ACBS World Conference student scholarship. This financial assistance not only enabled me to attend the conference but also exemplified ACBS's commitment to supporting young researchers and students in their pursuit of knowledge and professional development. During the conference, I had the privilege of delivering an oral presentation on a systematic review of compassion-based interventions for parents of children and adolescents with chronic health conditions. This experience allowed me to contribute to the field and share my findings with fellow researchers and practitioners.

The 2023 ACBS World Conference encompassed a diverse range of symposiums, workshops, and panels. I had the invaluable opportunity to learn about theories and techniques about compassion from the founders of compassion-focused therapy, as well as gain insights from clinical experts and scholars on the application of compassion-based interventions in various populations. Additionally, I acquired knowledge and skills related to acceptance and commitment therapy, which will undoubtedly enhance my future research and clinical practice. The chance to connect with experts in the field and learn from their experiences was truly transformative.

Participating in the 2023 ACBS World Conference was an enriching experience that expanded my knowledge and deepened my appreciation for contextual behavioral science. The opportunity to present my research, engage in meaningful discussions, and learn from esteemed professionals in the field has been truly invaluable. I look forward to applying the knowledge and skills gained from this conference to further my research and make a positive impact on the lives of parents and children affected by chronic health conditions.

 Yass Radd, City University of London

Attending and presenting at the ACBS 2023 World Conference in Cyprus was a truly great experience. Being a year into my part-time PhD at the time, it is sometimes difficult to feel fully immersed in the research and literature. My attendance at the conference gave me the chance to get up to date with the current research being carried out as well as consider the future of contextual behaviour science.

Getting involved by presenting my own research as part of a symposium was very rewarding and the new connections and friends I made were invaluable. I left feeling refreshed, inspired, and ready to continue research into ACT interventions. I am grateful of the support and opportunity to have attended my first ACBS conference and hope to attend many more in the future.

2024 Grant Recipient:

Sini LI, PhD Candidate of the The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and her co-investigators; Dr. Waitong Chien and Dr. Kamki LAM (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) are proud to be the recipients of the 2024 ACBS Foundation Grant for Sini LI's randomized controlled trial of an ACT-based parenting program for parents and autistic children..

Parents of children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience significant stress and emotional difficulties due to the demands of caregiving and the complex nature of their children's condition. This research proposal aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)-based parenting program in improving parental stress, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, psychological flexibility, self-efficacy, as well as children’s emotional and behavioral problems, when compared with the usual-care-only. By helping parents develop acceptance, psychological flexibility, and strategies to break free from unhelpful patterns of thinking and behavior, this program can empower them to effectively manage their psychological experiences and flexibly respond to their children’s needs and conditions.

The study will be conducted as a randomized controlled trial, with participants randomly assigned in 1:1 ratio to either the intervention group or the control group. Participants in control group will receive routine services from their children’s special education school as usual-care. Participants in the intervention group, in addition to usual-care, will receive a group-based, blended format (using both face-to-face and online modalities), and eight-weekly-session ACT-based parenting program and a workbook to facilitate recap and home practice. The data will be collected after recruitment (T0), immediate post-intervention (T1), and three-month post-intervention (T2).

This trial fills a crucial evidence gap by evaluating a new intervention program for parents of autistic children, addressing their diverse informational, emotional, and relational needs within the care pathway. By providing targeted and holistic support, parents, autistic children, and family members can benefit in the short and long term. This study would be the first to examine the effectiveness of an ACT-based parental training program for Chinese parents of autistic children. If this program is shown to be helpful, it will fill an important evidence gap in existing care pathways in China and worldwide.

2023 Grant Recipient

Dr. Alice Morgan, Coordinator of Clinical Psychology at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, and research team Rachel Lassman (Baby Ubuntu) and Michael Gumisiriza (Cohere) are proud to be the recipients of the 2023 ACBS Foundation Grant - Aaron S. Luoma Fund for Global Equity to complete a research project: Helping caregivers create Mighty Children: A Caregiver Support program for Children living with disability in a refugee camp.

2023 ACBS Foundation Robert J. Kohlenberg Research Award Grant Recipient: Sara Robayo

Sara Robayo, MS in Clinical Psychology at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia, and research team Yors Garcia (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana), Amanda Muñoz-Martinez (Universidad de los Andes), and Matthew Skinta (Roosevelt University) are proud to be the recipients of the 2023 ACBS Robert J. Kohlenberg Research Grant to complete a research project on evaluating the Effect of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy in Intimacy and Minority Stress in Trans and Gender non-conforming people.
 
The main goal of this research project is using functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) to improve intimacy repertories and stress minority levels in trans and gender non-conforming (TGNC) people living in Colombia (South America). In this country TGNC individuals are at greater risk of severe mental issues compared to cisgender counterpart, not to mention the limited access they have to evidence-based interventions that may help them with their specific needs. One of the most common difficulties reported by these individuals and observed in psychotherapeutic sessions is the lack of intimacy repertoires. These repertoires are important to develop close and significant relationships with significant ones. In addition, TGNC people have difficulties coping with minority stress, which consist of high levels of stress faced by members of stigmatized minority groups. Therefore, this research grant will be used to evaluate the impact of FAP in developing intimacy repertoires in TGNC people as well as teaching them alternative repertoires to effectively face minority stressors. We hope this study opens a new line of research and moves forward the legacy left by Robert Kohlenberg.

Click here to read more about the ACBS Foundation's Robert J. Kohlenberg Research Fund.

2024 Grant Recipient:

Serena Wong, PhD, Adjunct Faculty, Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario (Canada) and her co-investigators; Frankie Lui, Lisa Van Bussel and Lynette Markoff, are proud to be the recipients of the 2024 ACBS Robert J. Kohlenberg Research Grant to complete a research project on Targeting Loneliness: A Novel Application of Awareness, Courage, and Love Groups for Geriatric Psychiatry Patients.

Loneliness is a key predictor of death, dementia, physical decline, and poorer mental health in older adults. Geriatric psychiatry patients are at greater risk for the experience of loneliness. Reviews of loneliness interventions say that solutions need to have a clear theoretical basis and more randomized trials are required. Furthermore, researchers have stressed the importance of “a rich and forgiving social environment” for lonely individuals to address unhelpful social cognitions. Interventions rooted in behavior change theory also seem most promising. 

Developed by Dr. Mavis Tsai, Awareness, Courage, and Love Groups (ACL) represent a powerful, evidence-based approach to alleviate loneliness and enhance social connection. ACL sprung from functional analytic psychotherapy, which is a transdiagnostic approach grounded in functional contextualism and radical behaviorism, wherein the mechanism of change is therapeutic social reinforcement. Put simply, these groups are geared to alleviate suffering in a growing population of older adults with mental health diagnoses. 

We recently adapted ACL groups for geriatric psychiatry patients, with positive results based on informal patient feedback and staff observations. Our adaptations include the use of visual cues, aging-related themes, listening prompts, shorter meditations, and a simplified discussion process. Our interdisciplinary team comprises psychology, social work, nursing, and psychiatry. Our goals are to examine feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy in both outpatient and inpatient arms of this study, using randomized waitlist and active control group methodologies. In other words, we want to see if ACL “works” for a new geriatric population. In addition to tracking patient retention, which has so far been at 100%, we are collecting session feedback and assessing program satisfaction both qualitatively and quantitatively. Outcomes include life satisfaction, loneliness, social closeness, relational health, and the experience of sacred moments in group. If these groups work, we can support dissemination and cultivate communities of connection worldwide for lonely seniors.

Overview

Competencies for Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) have been established but have not been evaluated in research to date. Liddell, Allan, and Goss (2017) used a Delphi approach, recruiting 12 CFT experts to identify “the CFT competency framework (CFT-CF)”. This framework comprised six areas of competence: creating safeness, meta-skills, non-phase-specific skills, phase-specific skills, knowledge and understanding, and use of supervision. 25 primary competencies were identified within these areas.

Gilbert and Wood created an unpublished scale called the CFT Therapy Assessment Guide, a 45- item scale assessing “microskills, formulation skills, skills in explaining CFT, and contracting” (Horwood et al., 2020).

To build a more formal competency measure that included behavioral anchors, Horwood et al. (2020) used a Delphi approach and developed a CFT therapist competence rating scale (CFT-TCRS). The CFT-TCRS consists of 14 CFT unique competencies and 9 CFT microskills.

The CFT specific competencies include: psychoeducation, recognising motives and emotions, actively working with the three systems, understanding the relationship between three systems, compassionate mind training, building motivation, building courage, cultivating and tolerating positive feelings in the drive system, functional analysis, fears/blocks/resistances, unconscious emotions and processes, formulation, and multiple selves.

The CFT microskills include: non-verbal communication to build rapport, non-verbal communication and motivational/emotional systems, verbal communication, pacing, Socratic questioning, paraphrasing and summaries, agenda setting, validation and normalization, and mentalization.

Materials/Assessments/Work Products

CFT competency framework (CFT-CF)(Liddell, Allan, & Goss, 2017)  

CFT therapist competence rating scale (CFT-TCRS) (Horwood et al., 2020)

Bell, Hickey, and Bennett-Levy (2022) described the benefits of self-practice/self-reflection (SP/SR) training specifically for CFT therapists. There is a SP/SR book for CFT therapists (Kolts et al., 2018). Bell, Dixon, and Kolts (2017) reported the qualitative results of a 4-week SP/SR approach for CFT trainees to develop a compassionate internal supervisor.

Additional guidance for therapists has been published in multiple books (Gilbert & Simos, 2022; Kolts, 2016).

Additionally, some CFT experts have been publishing on the benefit of self-practice/self-reflection as a means to develop competence in CBT more generally (Thwaites et al., 2014;2015).

References

Bell, T., Dixon, A., & Kolts, R. (2017). Developing a compassionate internal supervisor: Compassion‐focused therapy for trainee therapists. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy, 24(3), 632-648.

Bell, T., Hickey, T., & Bennett-Levy, J. (2022). Self-practice/self-reflection (SP/SR) training for compassion-focused therapists. In P. Gilbert & G. Simos (Eds.), Compassion focused therapy: Clinical practice and applications (pp. 371–384). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003035879-14.

Gilbert, P., & Simos, G. (Eds.), Compassion focused therapy: Clinical practice and applications (pp. 371–384). Routledge.

Horwood, V., Allan, S., Goss, K., & Gilbert, P. (2020). The development of the compassion focused therapy therapist competence rating scale. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 93(2), 387-407.

Kolts, R. L. (2016). CFT made simple: A clinician's guide to practicing compassion-focused therapy. New Harbinger Publications.

Kolts, R. L., Bell, T., Bennett-Levy, J., & Irons, C. (2018). Experiencing compassion-focused therapy from the inside out: A self-practice/self-reflection workbook for therapists. Guilford Publications.

Liddell, A. E., Allan, S., & Goss, K. (2017). Therapist competencies necessary for the delivery of compassion‐focused therapy: A Delphi study. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 90(2), 156-176.

Thwaites, R., & Bennett‐Levy, Melanie Davis and Anna Chaddock, J. (2014). Using Self‐Practice and Self‐Reflection (SP/SR) to Enhance CBT Competence and Metacompetence. How to become a more effective CBT therapist: Mastering metacompetence in clinical practice, 239-254.

Thwaites, R., Cairns, L., Bennett‐Levy, J., Johnston, L., Lowrie, R., Robinson, A., ... & Perry, H. (2015). Developing Metacompetence in Low Intensity Cognitive‐Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Interventions: Evaluating a Self‐Practice/Self‐Reflection Programme for Experienced Low Intensity CBT Practitioners. Australian Psychologist, 50(5), 311-321.

Overview

Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP)(Kohlenberg &; Tsai, 1987;1991) is a modern,
contextual behavioral psychotherapy that applies behavioral analytic principles to shape client
behavior in the context of a nurturing therapeutic relationship. The proposed mechanism of
change in FAP is the therapist providing appropriate contingent responses to the client’s
clinically relevant behaviors (CRBs) that occur in session. Evidence of FAP’s effectiveness
continues to grow (Kanter et al., 2017) and practitioner interest in learning and using FAP
appears to be growing as well. Assessment of therapist competency in FAP has been an
increased focus as the research on FAP has matured. This section will review existing measures
of FAP competency. For the sake of comprehensiveness, measures of FAP adherence as well as
microprocess-level measures of therapists’ abilities to respond to client behavior with FAP-
consistent responses will also be reviewed. Competency, the ability to appropriately select and
enact FAP-consistent therapist behaviors that are tailored to specific client presentations across
time and across clients, is a more stringently defined class of behavior compared to the classes of
behavior that constitute FAP adherence or FAP-consistent behavior at the microprocess level.
Adherence and microprocess measures might be considered necessary, but not sufficient aspects
of competency. However, since measurement of competency can be resource intense (in terms of
time and complexity of the measurement procedure as well as the time and complexity in the
training of assessors), simpler, pragmatic measures of competency may be useful, particularly
when it is known how they relate to gold standard measures of competency.

Materials/Assessments/Work Products

FAP competencies organized by ACLB (awareness, courage, love, and behaviorism) model
and FAP based on process (Tsai, personal communication).
Description: Created by the developers of FAP, the FAP competencies organized by ACLB
measures five general competencies are defined, with 2-10 subcompetencies defined under each
general competency. Four of the general competencies correspond to the awareness, courage,
love, and behaviorism framework described in Tsai et al. (2009). The fifth general competency is
the ability to integrate the FAP skills in the “logical” FAP interaction (Weeks et al., 2012).
Competencies are collaboratively scored on a five point scale (1=poor; 5=excellent) with
competency being defined as scores of three (good) or above.

FAP Competency Scale (FAPCS) (Kanter, personal communication; Maitland et al., 2016a)
Description: The FAPCS, like the ACLB, is a way to operationalize a measure of competency
that was informed by the comprehensive training vision of the FAP co-developers. The FAPCS
is a 12-item scale developed by a FAP expert (in collaboration with other FAP experts including
the FAP co-developers). The scale includes four items measuring “generalized repertoires” of
awareness, courage, love, and behavioral theory. Eight items measure specific competencies
(assessing CRB, evoking CRBs, appropriate self-disclosure, responding to problematic client
behavior [“CRB1s”], responding to improved client behavior [“CRB2s”], tracking impact of
therapist’s attempts to use reinforcement, providing and shaping functional interpretations
[“CRB3s”], and implementing generalization through homework assignments) that map onto the
five principal FAP rules (Kohlenberg &; Tsai, 1991). Trained coders score recorded therapy
sessions using a four point scale (0=no indication of the behavior at all in the session; 3=a full,
highly competent repertoire displayed in the session). The minimum threshold for FAP
competency is set at a score of 2. Since CRBs are idiographically defined based on the case
conceptualization, the FAPCS is ideally used when the case conceptualization is provided;
however, the FAPCS can be scored without a case conceptualization.

FAP Vignettes (Kanter et al., 2013).
Description: Two brief vignettes are presented followed by prompts for open-ended responses by
trainees. Two items are based on the first vignette, which is a 13 line transcript in which a client
expresses nervousness in response to a therapist’s question. Item one asks trainees to give a FAP-
informed therapist response to the client’s nervousness. Item two asks trainees to provide a brief
FAP rationale to the client. The second vignette presents a single client utterance that trainees are
told to assume represents a clinical improvement (CRB2). The third item measures the extent to
which trainees offer a FAP-consistent response to this CRB2. Items are scored an academic scale
ranging from an F to an A+, which is converted to a numerical scale (F = 0 to A+ = 12) to permit
statistical comparison. The three items are averaged to provide an overall score. Reliability
assessed by a second coder was high (ICCs ranging from 0.88-0.91 for the items).

FAP Impact Scale (FAPIS) (Kanter et al., 2012; Muñoz-Martínez et al., 2024)

Original Article and Scale. Spanish adaptation: Article and Repository.
Description: The FAPIS is a self-report scale with 46 items measuring the impact of FAP
training on trainees. A sample item is “I say things that are hard to say to my clients.” Items are
scored on a 7-point scale (1=”disagree strongly, 4=””neutral/mixed”, 7=”agree strongly”).
Kanter et al. (2012) describe pilot data on the reliability and validity of the scale with two
cohorts (n=10 each) of graduate students. In the study, FAPIS total score had internal
consistency α=0.94. Muñoz-Martínez et al. (2024) reported a replication of the FAP Impact Scale with Spanish-speakers.

FAP Rating Scale (FAPRS)(Callaghan & Follette, 2008; Callaghan & Ruckstuhl, 2000;
Callaghan et al. 2005; Callaghan et al., 2008)
Article and Manual
Description: The FAPRS is a manualized coding system that categorizes client and therapist
statements (turns) on a turn-by-turn basis based on the functional (rather than topographic)
properties of the statements. Callaghan and Follette (2008) state that the FAPRS is “designed to
be functional, or at least quasi-functional with respect to the codes that are assigned to each
client or therapist behavior.” (p. 62). Coders assess the apparent functions of a statement based
on an established FAP case conceptualization. Therefore, the same statement made in a different
client-therapist dyad may be coded differently based on the specific case conceptualization for
each client. Callaghan and Follette (2008) described seven possible codes for client statements
(e.g., CRB2 is a clinically relevant behavior that reflects an in session improvement per the case
conceptualization). Therapist statements are categorized as one of 15 possible codes. Coders are
instructed not to code what the therapist attempts to do but rather whether those attempts are
successful or not. In some applications of the FAPRS, certain codes are combined or omitted for
strategic analytic purposes. A coding hierarchy establishes the priority rules when a statement
appears to contain more than one codable response. For example, if a turn reflects both
problematic in-session behavior and improved in-session behavior, it would be coded as an
improved in-session behavior (CRB2). Since the functional impact of a statement needs to be
assessed in context of the behavior that precedes and follows it, certain codes require an
appropriate antecedent behavior (e.g., a therapist effectively responding to a CRB1, coded as
TCRB1, can only occur in response to a client’s CRB1). To identify the function of a response,
coders can consider the six turns (three statements by the client, three by the therapist) that
follow a statement before deciding how to code that statement.

Therapist In Session Strategies Scale (THISS) (Kohlenberg et al., 2002; Parker, 2006; Parker
et al., 1996)
Description: The THISS consists of 36 items that are divided into four content subscales:
Cognitive Therapy, In Vivo Cognitive Therapy, FAP, and Interpersonal Therapy. The FAP
subscale measures in vivo interventions specific to FAP (e.g., therapist disclosure of thoughts or
feelings about the client’s in vivo behavior).

FAP Adherence Scale (Maitland & Gaynor, 2016)
Description: The FAP Adherence Scale is a 10 item measure with four items comprising a
supportive listening subscale, five items related to application of FAP rules comprising a FAP
subscale, and one item measuring homework assignment. Items 1-9 are scored from 0 (did not
occur) to 3 (occurred three or more times). The homework item is scored as 0 (did not occur, 1
(partial) or 2 (occurred).

Functional Assessment of Skills for Interpersonal Therapists (FASIT) (Callaghan, 2006b)
Description: The FASIT is a detailed manual describing five general classes of interpersonal
behavior that are proposed to be critical for effective interpersonal therapies, particularly FAP.
The manual describes several examples in each class and provides guidance for a trainee or
supervisor to discriminate effective from ineffective therapist behaviors. An appendix includes
idiographic measures of behavior that therapists may be targeting in their own repertoires.

References

Busch, A. M., Callaghan, G. M., Kanter, J. W., Baruch, D. E., & Weeks, C. E. (2010). The Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Rating Scale: A replication and extension. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 40, 11-19. doi:10.1007/s10879-009- 9122-8.

Busch, A. M., Kanter, J. W., Callaghan, G. M., Baruch, D. E., Weeks, C. E., & Berlin, K. S. (2009). A micro-process analysis of functional analytic psychotherapy’s mechanism of change. Behavior Therapy, 40, 280-290.

Callaghan, G. M. (2006a). The Functional Idiographic Assessment Template (FIAT) system: For use with interpersonally-based interventions including Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) and FAP-enhanced treatments. The Behavior Analyst Today, 7(3), 357-398.

Callaghan, G. M. (2006b). Functional Assessment of Skills for Interpersonal Therapists: The FASIT system: For the assessment of therapist behavior for interpersonally-based interventions including Functional Analytic Psychotherapy or FAP-enhanced treatments. The Behavior Analyst Today 7(3): 399-433.

Callaghan, G. M., & Follette, W. C. (2008). FAPRS manual: manual for the Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Rating Scale (FAPRS). Behavior Analyst Today, 9, 57-97.

Callaghan, G., & Follette, W. (2020). Interpersonal Behavior Therapy (IBT), Functional Assessment, and the Value of Principle-Driven Behavioral Case Conceptualizations. The Psychological Record, OnlineFirst, 1-11.

Callaghan, G. M., Follette, W. C., Ruckstuhl, L. E., & Linnerooth, P. J. N. (2008). The Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Rating Scale: A behavioral psychotherapy coding system. Behavior Analyst Today, 9, 98-116.

Callaghan, G. M., & Ruckstuhl, L. E. (2000). Manual for the functional analytic psychotherapy rating scale (version 2). Unpublished manual.

Callaghan, G. M., Ruckstuhl, L. E., & Busch, A. M. (2005). Manual for the Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Rating Scale (version 3). Unpublished manual. San José State University, San Jose, CA.

Callaghan, G. M., Summers, C. J., & Weidman, M. (2003). The treatment of histrionic and narcissistic personality disorder behaviors: A single-subject demonstration of clinical improvement using functional analytic psychotherapy. Journal of contemporary psychotherapy, 33(4), 321-339.

Esparza Lizarazo, N. E., Muñoz-Martínez, A. M., Santos, M. M., & Kanter, J. W. (2015). A within-subjects evaluation of the effects of functional analytic psychotherapy on in-session and out-of-session client behavior. The Psychological Record, 65(3), 463-474.

Find a FAP supervisor (n.d.). Functional analytic psychotherapy. Retrieved August 4, 2020, from https://functionalanalyticpsychotherapy.com/find-a-fap-supervisor/.

Kanter, J. W., Landes, S. J., Busch, A. M., Rusch, L. C., Brown, K. R., Baruch, D. E., & Holman, G. I. (2006). The effect of contingent reinforcement on target variables in outpatient psychotherapy for depression: A successful and unsuccessful case using functional analytic psychotherapy. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 39(4), 463-467.

Kanter, J. W., Manbeck, K. E., Kuczynski, A. M., Maitland, D. W., Villas-Bôas, A., &; Ortega,
M. A. R. (2017). A comprehensive review of research on functional analytic
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Kanter, J. W., Tsai, M., Holman, G., & Koerner, K. (2013). Preliminary data from a randomized pilot study of web-based functional analytic psychotherapy therapist training. Psychotherapy, 50(2), 248.

Keng, S. L., Waddington, E., Lin, X. B., Tan, M. S. Q., Henn‐Haase, C., & Kanter, J. W.
(2017). Effects of functional analytic psychotherapy therapist training on therapist factors among
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Knott, L. E., Wetterneck, C. T., Norwood, W., & Bistricky, S. L. (2019). The impact of training in functional analytic therapy on therapists’ target behavior. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 19(2), 164.

Kohlenberg, R. J., Kanter, J. W., Bolling, M. Y., Parker, C. R., & Tsai, M. (2002). Enhancing cognitive therapy for depression with functional analytic psychotherapy: Treatment guidelines and empirical findings. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 9(3), 213-229.

Kohlenberg, R.J., & Tsai, M. (1987). Functional analytic psychotherapy. In N. S. Jacobson (Ed.), Psychotherapists in clinical practice: Cognitive and behavioral perspectives (pp. 388-443). New York: Guilford Press.

Kohlenberg, R. J., & Tsai, M. (1991). Functional analytic psychotherapy: Creating intense and curative therapeutic relationships. Plenum Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-70855-3

Landes, S. J., Kanter, J. W., Weeks, C. E., & Busch, A. M. (2013). The impact of the active components of functional analytic psychotherapy on idiographic target behaviors. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 2(1-2), 49-57.

Maitland, D. W., & Gaynor, S. T. (2016). Functional analytic psychotherapy compared with supportive listening: An alternating treatments design examining distinctiveness, session evaluations, and interpersonal functioning. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 16(2), 52-64.

Maitland, D. W., Kanter, J. W., Tsai, M., Kuczynski, A. M., Manbeck, K. E., & Kohlenberg, R J. (2016a). Preliminary findings on the effects of online Functional Analytic Psychotherapy training on therapist competency. The Psychological Record, 66(4), 627-637.

Maitland, D. W., Petts, R. A., Knott, L. E., Briggs, C. A., Moore, J. A., & Gaynor, S. T. (2016b). A randomized controlled trial of functional analytic psychotherapy versus watchful waiting: Enhancing social connectedness and reducing anxiety and avoidance. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 16(3), 103-122.

Muñoz-Martínez, A. M., Márquez-Barraquer, V., Jiménez-Leal, W., Carmona-Díaz, G. M., & Acuña-Rojas, D. (2024). Assessing the Psychometric Properties of the Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Intimacy Scale (FAPIS) in a Spanish-Speaking Population. The Psychological Record, 1-11.

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Tsai, M., Kohlenberg, R. J., Kanter, J. W., Kohlenberg, B., Follette, W. C., & Callaghan, G. M. (2009). A guide to functional analytic psychotherapy. Awareness, courage, love and behaviorism. New York: Springer.

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Weeks, C. E., Kanter, J. W., Bonow, J. T., Landes, S. J., & Busch, A. M. (2012). Translating the theoretical into practical: A logical framework of functional analytic psychotherapy interactions for research, training, and clinical purposes. Behavior Modification, 36(1), 87-119.

Overview

Rapid progress in technology has diversified the way behavior change methods such as psychotherapy or coaching are provided. The global movement to limit face-to-face contact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the provision of behavior change methods delivered via the internet. As an example, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)  has been adapted in various ways. Therapy materials, video clips, and worksheets are provided online, and symptom questionnaires and self-assessments are used to monitor progress as usual but these may be collected and scored in different formats. Generally speaking, there are two types of remote CBT provision. First, clients practice CBT without the support of a therapist. Second, a therapist supports a client by using a remote method such as an online meeting, mail, chat, and telephone. VR has also been used to provide CBT (Maheu, Pulier, McMenamin, & Posen, 2012).

Terminology

Psychological services or interventions provided via the internet have been described in the literature with a variety of terms including "telepsychological services," "Digital mental health technology," "web-based," "Internet CBT," and "tele-CBT." Another complication is that internet-based interventions have sometimes been described as "telehealth" yet the term telehealth has been used in multiple ways, sometimes referring to the provision of psychological services specifically and sometimes referring more generally to both medical and behavioral health interventions. This proliferation of terms has been called “terminology chaos (Barak, 2013). Term reduction is required to evaluate the effectiveness and tasks of remote psychological services or interventions (Andersson, Titov, Dear, Rozental, & Carlbring, 2019). Here we use Internet CBT (ICBT) to represent all types of remote CBTs.

Benefits
Internet-based psychological interventions, including ICBT, have significant advantages over face-to-face psychological services or interventions in terms of time, effort, and costs. A client can choose a good therapist without considering distance, even in a different country (subject to country-specific laws and profession-specific regulations). Internet-based services can be delivered to people with mobility difficulties, such as severe physical disability. Remote delivery of services offers an advantage to clinical research as well since much more participants can be recruited beyond geographical barriers (Andersson, et al., 2019), which may lead to more diverse research samples.

Issues
Data security is crucial, especially when sensitive information is exchanged. Legal requirements for managing personal data are being developed in many countries, and ICBT guidelines are also being provided by the American Psychological Association (Joint Taskforce for the Development of Telepsychology Guidelines for Psychologists, 2013) and Canada (Johnson, 2014). Older persons who are not familiar with using a computer and smartphone and people living in unavailable areas or countries would not be able to benefit from ICBT. The gap in dissemination has widened. Finally, the acceptance of ICBT by insurance companies depends on their country (Andersson et al., 2019).

Current evidence base
Many studies have investigated the effectiveness of ICBT. Recent meta-analyses have shown that ICBT is more effective than no treatment, and therapist-supported ICBT is the same as face-to-face CBT (Cuijpers, Cristea, Karyotaki, Reijnders, & Huibers, 2016; Cuijpers et al., 2009; Spek et al., 2007). A study comparing ICBT with and without therapist support showed that ICBT with support was more effective than that without support for anxiety disorders and depressions (Andrews et al., 2018; Olthuis, Watt, Bailey, Hayden, & Stewart, 2016; Sijbrandij, Kunovski, & Cuijpers, 2016). However, it should be noted that the quality of the evidence was low to moderate (Olthuis et al., 2016).

Trindade et al. (2021) completed a systematic review and meta-analysis of online-based delivery of ACT specifically for chronic pain. Online ACT demonstrated more effectiveness (relative to control conditions) on outcome measures of pain interference, pain intensity, depression, anxiety, mindfulness, and psychological flexibility.

CBS therapies delivered via the internet
Regarding therapies under the rubric of contextual behavior science (CBS), there are some meta-analyses. Most of them focused on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The effectiveness or feasibility were reported for subjective wellbeing (Stenhoff, Steadman, Nevitt, Benson, & White, 2020), anxiety (Brown, Glendenning, Hoon, & John, 2016; Kelson, Rollin, Ridout, & Campbell, 2019), and depression (French, Golijani-Moghaddam, & Schröder, 2017; Thompson, Destree, Albertella, & Fontenelle, 2021; Trindade et al., 2021). Lakeman et al. (2022) and van Leeuwen et al. (2021) conducted systematic reviews of DBT provided by the Internet. Lakeman et al. (2022, p.11) reported “current research evidence does not support a permanent shift towards online or blended DBT. It is pivotal and timely to increase efforts to investigate the efficacy of online DBT, compared to standard face-to-face DBT.”

Competency measures

To date, there are limited measures of competency for internet-based interventions. There are several best practice guidelines for the use of telepsychology, which can be used for self-assessment of one's fidelity to the guidelines. For example, see Figure 1 from Maheu et al. (2021) describing telebehavioral health competencies:

These telepsychology guidelines typically describe ways of effectively delivering services via remote electronic means, and there are meant to apply to a range of psychological interventions spanning a variety of theoretical approaches (e.g., cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic). In a scoping review, McCord et al. (2020) distilled a set of guidelines.

Specific interventions, such as ACT, may have a set of competency measures. Generally, these competencies are not altered when the intervention is delivered remotely. Essentially, practitioners are expected to meet the competencies of telepsychology and the intervention-specific competencies at the same time. As McCord et al (2020) noted: in their discussion of telepsychology competence: 

"Most basically, a clinician must first be competent in his or her ability to effectively enact the content of the chosen treatment, regardless of the mode of communication (i.e., telepsychology vs. in‐person). No matter the means of transmitting the services, a provider must be extensively trained and prepared in treatments that they are offering to clients. This includes receiving proper supervision and feedback throughout the training process. For example, a psychologist conducting cognitive behavioral therapy over videoconferencing would not only need to be properly trained in this treatment but also be able to make proper adaptations to treatment based on any available best practices and clinical judgment. An example of an adaptation may be mailing worksheets or sending them over a secure file transfer electronically so that they client is able to follow along and participate in homework. (p. 1076)."

Recently, Weisenmuller & Luzier (2022) called for technology to be considered a core competency for psychologists to develop.

How is culture addressed In the competencies?

Some studies have attempted to adapt or modify ICBT programs developed in Western countries to culturally different countries. Patel et al. (2016) and Abuwalla (2017) adapted the CATCH-IT (Competent Adulthood Transition with Cognitive-Behavioral, Humanistic and Interpersonal Training program), which is an internet-based intervention targeting teens at risk for developing depression, to China and Arabian countries. Zemestani, Hosseini, Petersen, & Twohig (2022) reported internet-based ACT (iACT) in Iran was equally effective as ACT delivered in Western countries. Ramaiya et al.,（2017）provided DBT to persons in Nepal. They conducted the study with three phases. One was qualitative interviews with major Nepali mental health stakeholders, the second was an adaptation workshop with 15 Nepali counselors, and the third was a small-scale treatment pilot with eligible clients in one rural district. They concluded that while DBT concepts were the least comprehensible to clients, the high program completion rate suggested the utility of structured, skills-based treatment of DBT. A systematic review of DBT (Haft, O'Grady, Shaller, & Liu, 2022) revealed that most adaptations involved modifications to language, metaphors, methods, and context, and there was insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of culturally adapted DBT. Competency has usually been assessed in these studies by measuring fidelity to the specified intervention. Fidelity measures may include items that address the aim of successfully adapting the intervention to a different cultural context, but competency in doing so is rarely measured.

Willis et al. (2022) made recommendations for increasing the cultural responsivity of telepsychology (and mHealth) interventions, but they did not call for new directions in measures of competence.

How have competencies been operationalized in diverse practice settings and delivery modalities? 

Aside from resources on best-practices in delivering therapy through telehealth, no specific guidance was found. McCord et al. (2020) identified key variations in practice settings and delivery modalities for telepsychology, but called for an overall focus on competence and multicultural competence that did not vary across settings.

Materials / Assessments / Work Products

To date, no scale has been developed to measure therapist competency in ICBT. Several guidelines for the implementation of Internet-based telepsychology have been reported, and McCord et al. (2020) summarized them and proposed a practice model. One of the cube models summarizes considerations related to Internet-based psychotherapy (IBT). These are briefly summarized below.

Client appropriateness
Therapists should consider the client's history (e.g., repetitive crises and comfort-receiving telepsychology services). In particular, clients receiving telepsychology services, as opposed to in-person services, are in a situation where self-harm and other behaviors are difficult to control. It is also necessary
to consider the appropriateness of a client's literacy regarding technology.

Informed consents
Therapists should obtain informed consent about the risks, benefits, and alternatives to telepsychology services.

Professional boundaries
Therapists should maintain professional language through email and texting communications. They should clarify that these messages are for the client only and are not shared with others. Therapists should be mindful of the ubiquitous nature of social media and should maintain boundaries by not contacting clients through social media. Therapists should explain to clients their social media policy (e.g., not becoming friends on social media) at the start of the service.

Privacy and confidentiality
Therapists should develop policies regarding security issues (including the use of encryption, transmission, storage, and disposal). Therapists should clearly explain to clients that digital information such as telephone records, videos, and emails is protected and will not be shared outside the organization.

Managing outages and downtime,
Therapists should ensure that the system reliably provides services. At the same time, they should consider that it is inevitable that the system will fail and make plans for this.

Competent
Therapists should be competent in the interventions they provide, regardless of the mode in which the service is provided, for example, telepsychology vs. in-person. This includes receiving ongoing SV. Therapists delivering CBT through videoconferencing should also adapt their in-person interventions, for example, by sending worksheets to clients via secure file transfers.

Termination of services
Therapists should ask clients to assess their satisfaction and the quality of the services provided if the termination of services is deemed appropriate.

Dissemination and maintenance of competencies

Implementation of internet-based interventions has been studied (see e.g., Benavides-Vaello, Strode, & Sheeran, 2013; Jang-Jaccard, Nepal, Alem, & Li, 2014), and the adoption of best-practices has also been described, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic (Alqahtani et al., 2021; Dopp et al., 2020; Penney et al., 2021) Little is known about the maintenance of competencies specific to internet-based interventions.

References

Abuwalla, Z., Kadhem, Z., Gladstone, T., Mikhael, E., Bishay, A., & Van Voorhees, B. W. (2017). Proposed model for the cultural adaptation of an Internet-based depression prevention intervention (CATCH-IT) for Arab adolescents. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 31(1), 20160147.

Alqahtani, M. M. J., Alkhamees, H. A., Alkhalaf, A. M., Alarjan, S. S., Alzahrani, H. S., AlSaad, G. F., ... & Alqahtani, K. M. M. (2021). Toward establishing telepsychology guideline. Turning the challenges of COVID-19 into opportunity. Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, 16, 100612.

Andersson, G., Titov, N., Dear, B. F., Rozental, A., & Carlbring, P. (2019). Internet‐delivered psychological treatments: from innovation to implementation. World Psychiatry, 18(1), 20-28.

Andrews, G., Basu, A., Cuijpers, P., Craske, M., McEvoy, P., English, C., & Newby, J. (2018). Computer therapy for the anxiety and depression disorders is effective, acceptable and practical health care: an updated meta-analysis. Journal of anxiety disorders, 55, 70-78.

Barak, A. (2013). Concepts, definitions, and applications: the terminology cha os of Internetsupported psychotherapeutic interventions. Paper presented at the 6th Meeting of the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions, Chicago.

Benavides-Vaello, S., Strode, A., & Sheeran, B. C. (2013). Using technology in the delivery of mental health and substance abuse treatment in rural communities: a review. The journal of behavioral health services & research, 40(1), 111-120.

Brown, M., Glendenning, A., Hoon, A. E., & John, A. (2016). Effectiveness of web-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy in relation to mental health and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of medical Internet research, 18(8), e221.

Cuijpers, P., Cristea, I. A., Karyotaki, E., Reijnders, M., & Huibers, M. J. (2016). How effective are cognitive behavior therapies for major depression and anxiety disorders? A meta‐analytic update of the evidence. World Psychiatry, 15(3), 245-258.

Cuijpers, P., Marks, I. M., van Straten, A., Cavanagh, K., Gega, L., & Andersson, G. (2009). Computer‐aided psychotherapy for anxiety disorders: A meta‐analytic review. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 38(2), 66-82.

Dopp, A. R., Mapes, A. R., Wolkowicz, N. R., McCord, C. E., & Feldner, M. T. (2021). Incorporating telehealth into health service psychology training: A mixed-method study of student perspectives. Digital health, 7, 2055207620980222.

Joint Taskforce for the Development of Telepsychology Guidelines for Psychologists (2013). Guidelines for the practice of Telepsychology. The American psychologist, 68(9), 791-800.

French, K., Golijani-Moghaddam, N., & Schr?der, T. (2017). What is the evidence for the efficacy of self-help acceptance and commitment therapy? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 6(4), 360-374.

Haft, S. L., O'Grady, S. M., Shaller, E. A., & Liu, N. H. (2022). Cultural adaptations of dialectical behavior therapy: A systematic review. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

Jang-Jaccard, J., Nepal, S., Alem, L., & Li, J. (2014). Barriers for delivering telehealth in rural Australia: a review based on Australian trials and studies. Telemedicine and e-Health,?20(5), 496-504.

Johnson, G. R. (2014). Toward uniform competency standards in telepsychology: A proposed framework for Canadian psychologists. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 55(4), 291.

Kelson, J., Rollin, A., Ridout, B., & Campbell, A. (2019). Internet-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy for anxiety treatment: systematic review. Journal of medical Internet research, 21(1), e12530.

Lakeman, R., King, P., Hurley, J., Tranter, R., Leggett, A., Campbell, K., & Herrera, C. (2022). Towards online delivery of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy: A scoping review. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 31(4), 843-856.

Maheu, M. M., Pulier, M. L., McMenamin, J. P., & Posen, L. (2012). Future of telepsychology, telehealth, and various technologies in psychological research and practice. Professional psychology: Research and practice, 43(6), 613.

Maheu, M. M., Wright, S. D., Neufeld, J., Drude, K. P., Hilty, D. M., Baker, D. C., & Callan, J. E. (2021). Interprofessional telebehavioral health competencies framework: Implications for telepsychology. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 52(5), 439.

McCord, C., Bernhard, P., Walsh, M., Rosner, C., & Console, K. (2020). A consolidated model for telepsychology practice. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 76(6), 1060-1082.

Olthuis, J. V., Watt, M. C., Bailey, K., Hayden, J. A., & Stewart, S. H. (2016). Therapist‐supported Internet cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews(3).

Patel, U., Sobowale, K., Fan, J., Liu, N., Kuwabara, S., Lei, Z., . . . Van Voorhees, B. (2016). Cultural considerations for the adaptation of an Internet-based intervention for depression prevention in Mainland China. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 29(5), 20150099.

Penney, E., Reynolds, J., Knott, V., & Green, H. (2022). Lessons from 2020: practical and clinical aspects of rapid telepsychology adoption in clinical psychology postgraduate programs. Australian Psychologist, 57(3), 161-166.

Ramaiya, M. K., Fiorillo, D., Regmi, U., Robins, C. J., & Kohrt, B. A. (2017). A cultural adaptation of dialectical behavior therapy in Nepal. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 24(4), 428-444.

Sijbrandij, M., Kunovski, I., & Cuijpers, P. (2016). Effectiveness of internet‐delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Depression and anxiety, 33(9), 783-791.

Spek, V., Cuijpers, P., Nykl??ek, I., Riper, H., Keyzer, J., & Pop, V. (2007). Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy for symptoms of depression and anxiety: a meta-analysis. Psychologicalmedicine, 37(3), 319-328.

Stenhoff, A., Steadman, L., Nevitt, S., Benson, L., & White, R. G. (2020). Acceptance and commitment therapy and subjective wellbeing: A systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials in adults. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 18, 256-272.

Thompson, E. M., Destree, L., Albertella, L., & Fontenelle, L. F. (2021). Internet-based acceptance and commitment therapy: a transdiagnostic systematic review and meta-analysis for mental health outcomes. Behavior therapy, 52(2), 492-507.

Trindade, I. A., Guiomar, R., Carvalho, S. A., Duarte, J., Lapa, T., Menezes, P., . . . Castilho, P. (2021). Efficacy of online-based acceptance and commitment therapy for chronic pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Journal of Pain, 22(11), 1328-1342.

van Leeuwen, H., Sinnaeve, R., Witteveen, U., Van Daele, T., Ossewaarde, L., Egger, J. I., & van den Bosch, L. (2021). Reviewing the availability, efficacy and clinical utility of Telepsychology in dialectical behavior therapy (Tele-DBT). Borderline personality disorder and emotion dysregulation, 8(1), 1-15.

Weisenmuller, C. M., & Luzier, J. L. (2022). Technology is a core competency in professional psychology. Training and Education in Professional Psychology.

Willis, H. A., Gonzalez, J. C., Call, C. C., Quezada, D., Scholars for Elevating Equity and Diversity (SEED), & Galán, C. A. (2022). Culturally Responsive Telepsychology & mHealth Interventions for Racial-Ethnic Minoritized Youth: Research Gaps and Future Directions. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 51(6), 1053-1069.

Zemestani, M., Hosseini, M., Petersen, J. M., & Twohig, M. P. (2022). A pilot randomized controlled trial of culturally-adapted, telehealth group acceptance and commitment therapy for Iranian adolescent females reporting symptoms of anxiety. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 25, 145-152.

Competency Measurement in Mindfulness

Mindfulness has grown in popularity as both a practice and an intervention. Research assessing the impact of mindfulness practice has also surged in more recent years, with benefits ranging from reduced rumination (Chambers, et al., 2008) to stress reduction (Hoffman et al., 2010) to less emotional reactivity (Ortner, et al., 2007) and more cognitive flexibility (Cahn & Polich, 2006; Davidson et al., 2003; Siegel, 2007). It has also been shown to support therapists by improving empathy (Aiken, 2006), compassion (Kingsbury, 2009), and counseling skill (Newsome, et al., 2006; Schure, et al., 2008). Scores of other benefits are found in the research literature (for a review, see Goldberg, et al, 2018 for a review).

Despite this growth, little research has been conducted on competencies for those who implement or use mindfulness as a therapeutic approach. However, underlying philosophy and stages of competence have been defined (see Dreyfus and Dreyfus 1986), and a call to competency in delivering this practice has been made: “In this rapidly developing context, there is a growing demand for teachers and trainers of teachers. Understandably, concerns are being expressed from within the field that practitioners may be tempted to respond to this demand without engaging in personal preparation and developing the competencies required for these endeavors (e.g., Crane et al., 2012).” One study evaluating 16 mindfulness competencies has also been conducted (Stauffer & Pehrsson, 2012), and competencies in teaching mindfulness-based courses have been explored (Crane, et al., 2011). Recent efforts to provide competency guidelines for clinical social workers have underscored the importance of focusing on the competent delivery of mindfulness training and practice (Paulson, 2018).

It is important to recognize that several of the CBS-oriented therapies use mindfulness practices as a part of their interventions and has been included in information concerning intervention-specific competencies. For instance, acceptance and commitment therapy acknowledges mindfulness practices in two of its core process competencies: 1) Present Moment: The therapist uses exercises to expand the client’s sense of experience as an ongoing process (e.g., mindfulness exercises), and 2) Self-as-context: The therapist helps the client make a distinction between self as context and content by employing mindfulness exercises (e.g., leaves on a stream, soldiers on parade, observer exercise) metaphors (e.g., chessboard) and behavioral tasks (e.g., take your mind for a walk). Consideration in mindfulness competencies is relevant to the CBS-oriented therapies using this practice.

Products/Assessments/Work Products

Adaptation of Dreyfus and Dreyfus stages of competence (see Dreyfus and Dreyfus 1986 or Crane et al., 2011) for mindfulness-based teaching competence:

Summary of Competence and the Underlying Philosophy of Mindfulness-Based Approaches

List of Competencies to train clients in mindfulness methods
1. Regular daily practice
2. Educational resources on mindfulness
3. Therapeutic alliance
4. Meta-cognitive awareness
5. Empathy
6. Facing rather than avoiding difficult experiences
7. Attention regulation
8. Acceptance and non-judgement

Stage Competence descriptors:

1. Incompetent Teaching:
Is inappropriate, likely to compromise the safety of participants, and to lead to negative therapeutic consequences. The trainee has not grasped the fundamentals of mindfulness-based teaching practice and does not recognize basic principles and rules. There is nonadherence to the program form.

2. Beginner Trainees:
Operate in a state of rule learning and rule governedness. Preparation for teaching is likely to be dominated by memorizing scripted responses to participants and bringing to mind a list of ‘teaching points’ to bring to class dialogues. Although aspects of competence are demonstrated at this stage, there are numerous substantive problems and an overall lack of consistency. Experience is needed to progress through this stage—underlining the importance of training programs offering considerable time to practice skills with fellow trainees and receive feedback.

3. Advanced beginner:
Having had opportunities to practice newly acquired skills in mindfulness-based teaching, trainees are able to more easily recall the ‘rules’ that need applying (i.e. the different steps within the sitting practice guidance, ways of opening up class dialogue following a practice) and are increasingly able to apply these in a more sophisticated way. The teaching process is still deliberative, and significant inconsistencies require further development, but competencies are clearly demonstrated. Participants’ emotional and physical safety is adequately taken care of, and at a very basic level, the teacher is ‘fit for practice’—at this stage, the participants would not be harmed and are likely to have opportunities for learning.

4. Competent:
Focusing on context-free rules in the previous stages drains attentional resources and, through increasing familiarity with the teaching process becomes far less necessary. Trainees at this stage move away from a predominant focus on applied problem solving and the application of learned rules towards an embodied engagement in the moment and a greater degree of fluid responsiveness. Although there are some inconsistencies and problems, the teaching is at a workable level of competence and is clearly ‘fit for practice’.

5. Proficiency:
At this stage, the teacher can intuitively use learned patterns without decomposing them into component features and has increased moment-by-moment responsiveness and flexibility. The teacher operates from direct contact with the arising of experience in self, in individual participants, and in the group.

6. Advanced:
At this stage, the skill that the teacher has in teaching mindfulness is part of him/her as a person. While teaching, they are immersed in the process and no longer use rules, guidelines, or maxims. She/he has a deep tacit understanding of the teaching and is an original, flexible, and fluid teacher. The breadth and depth of knowledge of the teacher at this developmental stage is an inspiration to others. At this stage, the teacher’s skills are consistent despite strong difficulties such as participant hostility or strong emotion. The process is intuitive, and the teacher is unlikely to be able to articulate how he/she is teaching if asked easily.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-011-0073-2/tables/1

Methodologies for assessing mindfulness teaching skills associated with competence: Teaching portfolios
1. Reflective assignments
2. Academic assignments
3. Self-assessment
4. Peer assessment
5. Review of teaching by an expert panel
6. Use of rating scales: two scales: The MBCT Adherence scale
7. Mindfulness-based Relapse Prevention Adherence and Competence Scale
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-011-0073-2/tables/2

____________________

Paulson, J. (2018). Developing competence with mindfulness-based interventions: Guidelines for clinical social workers. Journal of Sociology and Social Work, 6(1), 1-6:
 

References
Aiken, G. A. (2006). The potential effect of mindfulness meditation on the cultivation of empathy in psychotherapy: A qualitative inquiry (Doctoral dissertation, Saybrook University).

Britton, W. B. (2016). Scientific literacy as a foundational competency for teachers of mindfulness-based interventions. Resources for teaching mindfulness: An international handbook, 93-119.

Cahn BR, Polich J. Meditation states and traits: EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies. Psychol Bull. 2006;132:180–211

Chambers, R., Lo, B. C. Y., & Allen, N. B. (2008). The impact of intensive mindfulness training on attentional control, cognitive style, and affect. Cognitive therapy and research, 32, 303-322.

Crane, R. S., Kuyken, W., Williams, J. M. G., Hastings, R. P., Cooper, L., & Fennell, M. J. (2012). Competence in teaching mindfulness-based courses: concepts, development and assessment. Mindfulness, 3, 76-84.

Crane, R. S., Soulsby, J. G., Kuyken, W., Williams, J. M. G., & Eames, C. (2011). The Bangor, Exeter &Oxford mindfulness-based interventions: teaching assessment criteria. Unpublished manuscript.

Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., ... & Sheridan, J. F. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic medicine, 65(4), 564-570.

Dreyfus HL, Dreyfus SE. Mind over machine: the power of human intuition and experience in the age of computers. New York: Free Press; 1986.

Goldberg, S. B., Tucker, R. P., Greene, P. A., Davidson, R. J., Wampold, B. E., Kearney, D. J., & Simpson, T. L. (2018). Mindfulness-based interventions for psychiatric disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical psychology review, 59, 52-60.

Kingsbury, E. (2009). The relationship between empathy and mindfulness: Understanding the role of self-compassion. ProQuest Information & Learning.

Masuda, A. (Ed.). (2014). Mindfulness and acceptance in multicultural competency: A contextual approach to sociocultural diversity in theory and practice. New Harbinger Publications.

Newsome, S., Christopher, J. C., Dahlen, P., & Christopher, S. (2006). Teaching counselors self-care through mindfulness practices. Teachers College Record, 108(9), 1881-1900.

Ortner, C. N., Kilner, S. J., & Zelazo, P. D. (2007). Mindfulness meditation and reduced emotional interference on a cognitive task. Motivation and emotion, 31, 271-283.

Paulson, J. (2018). Developing competence with mindfulness-based interventions: Guidelines for clinical social workers. Journal of Sociology and Social Work, 6(1), 1-6.

Schure, M. B., Christopher, J., & Christopher, S. (2008). Mind–body medicine and the art of self‐care: teaching mindfulness to counseling students through yoga, meditation, and qigong. Journal of Counseling & Development, 86(1), 47-56.

Siegel, D. J. (2007). Mindfulness training and neural integration: Differentiation of distinct streams of awareness and the cultivation of well-being. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2(4), 259-263.

Stauffer, M., & Pehrsson, D. E. (2012). Mindfulness competencies for counselors and psychotherapists. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 34(3), 227-239.
 
 

Overview

Process-Based Therapy (PBT) has been developed as an alternative to the "protocols for syndromes" approach to diagnosis and treatment. PBT has been described as a return to the functional roots that informed the early practice of behavior therapy (Hofmann and Hayes, 2019). One strand in the development of PBT is a task force report on CBT competencies among doctoral trainees (Klepac et al., 2012). Hayes and Hofmann (2018) elaborated on these CBT competencies from a contextual behavioral science lens that was termed "Process-based CBT." Process-based CBT refers to the use of various change processes identified from mediational research. PBT appears to be a more general form of Process-based CBT that makes more intensive use of an idiographic network diagramming approach (in order to avoid the ergodic error associated with change processes identified from group rather than individual research). Empirical research explicitly focusing on PBT has recently emerged including the development of item pools (Ciarrochi, Sahdra, Hofmann, and Hayes, 2022) and the statistical identification of functional processes that can be interpreted as a case conceptualization (Sanford et al., 2022). PBT is not meant to be considered a specific kind of therapy; rather, it is proposed to be an alternative way to operationalize evidence-based therapy/practice; thus, the use of methods and theories beyond CBT can be accommodated within the PBT approach (although the developers state that the change processes--which may have different names in different clinical traditions--must be empirically-supported "intervention kernels").

Current State of Competencies

Competency in PBT has yet to be formally defined or evaluated. However, the competencies have been described in various publications, and general principles of how PBT competency might be implemented and evaluated are evident from these sources. A few of these publications, most notably the Learning Process-Based Therapy book, include useful work products such as sample network conceptualizations. Additional work products are available on the Processed-Based Therapy SIG listserve.

PBT co-developer Steven C. Hayes (personal communication) described how competency in PBT can be generally conceptualized. Specifically, one must be competent in reading the processes. One must be competent  in developing, monitoring, validating, and re-evaluating the dynamic network of processes. One must also be competent in delivering the intervention kernerls that are likely to move the key processes that have been identified by the network analysis.

The development of analytic methods to assist practitioners in the application of these competencies is an active area of development as of July 2023. Digital tools to collect intensive longitudinal data needed to model individual dynamics are in development. A conceptual approach that may help practitioners target relevant processes is the multi-dimensional, multi-level extended evolutionary meta-model (EEMM) (Hayes, Hoffman, and Ciarrochi, 2020). Empirically, the recent review of all replicated measures that mediate psychological outcomes can by organized with the EEMM to identify processes that may be relevant to target and measure (Hayes et al., 2022).

Several intervention kernels are known (see e.g., Hayes and Hoffman, 2018). The efficacy of existing kernels and newly developed kernels is continually being evaluated. Identifying relevant intervention kernels requires practitioners to stay up to date with the empirical status of each kernel (paying particular attention to meta-analyses). Developing competency with specific kernels is outside the scope of PBT. However, PBT may offer a solution to measuring competency with any chosen kernel by virtue of the fact that the individual network must be specified and changes in the network must be measured, which will provide evidence of the impact of the intervention.

Materials/Assessments/Work Products

For a book length treatment specifically describing therapist competencies, see Hofmann, Hayes, and Lorscheid (2021). The book includes free resources.

There is a Processed-Based Therapy Special Interest Group (SIG) that actively discusses PBT skills.

MindGrapher and PLAN (Personalized Life Analysis Network) are commercially available tools to help with conceptualizing cases using a PBT approach.

References

Ciarrochi, J., Sahdra, B., Hofmann, S. G., & Hayes, S. C. (2022). Developing an item pool to assess processes of change in psychological interventions: The Process-Based Assessment Tool (PBAT). Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 23, 200-213.

Hayes, S. C., Ciarrochi, J., Hofmann, S. G., Chin, F., & Sahdra, B. (2022). Evolving an idionomic approach to processes of change: Towards a unified personalized science of human improvement. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 156, 104155. Doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104155

Hayes, S. C., & Hofmann, S. G. (Eds.). (2018). Process-based CBT: The science and core clinical competencies of cognitive behavioral therapy. New Harbinger Publications.

Hayes, S. C., Hofmann, S. G. & Ciarrochi, J. (2020). A process-based approach to psychological diagnosis and treatment: The conceptual and treatment utility of an extended evolutionary model. Clinical Psychology Review, 82, 101908. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101908

Hayes, S. C., Hofmann, S. G., & Stanton, C. E. (2020). Process-based functional analysis can help behavioral science step up to the challenges of novelty: COVID – 19 as an example. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 18, 128-145. doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.08.009.

Hayes, S. C., Hofmann, S. G., Stanton, C. E., Carpenter, J. K., Sanford, B. T., Curtiss, J. E., & Ciarrochi, J. (2019). The role of the individual in the coming era of process-based therapy. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 117, 40-53. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.10.005

Hofmann, S. G., & Hayes, S. C. (2019). Functional analysis is dead: Long live functional analysis. Clinical Psychological Science, 7(1), 63-67.

Hofmann, S. G., Hayes, S. C., & Lorscheid, D. N. (2021). Learning process-based therapy: A skills training manual for targeting the core processes of psychological change in clinical practice. New Harbinger Publications.

Klepac, R. K., Ronan, G. F., Andrasik, F., Arnold, K. D., Belar, C. D., Berry, S. L., ... & Strauman, T. J. (2012). Guidelines for cognitive behavioral training within doctoral psychology programs in the United States: Report of the Inter-organizational Task Force on Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology Doctoral Education. Behavior Therapy, 43(4), 687-697.

Sanford, B. T., Ciarrochi, J., Hofmann, S. G., Chin, F., Gates, K. M., & Hayes, S. C. (2022). Toward empirical process-based case conceptualization: An idionomic network examination of the process-based assessment tool. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science.

Congratulations to Inês A. Trindade on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for March 2018!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Inês:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I started researching in CBS during my Master’s Thesis in Clinical and Health Psychology at University of Coimbra. My thesis aimed to develop a body image-related cognitive fusion questionnaire and analyse the impact of this construct on eating psychopathology. During this time I was a clinical psychology intern at the Psychiatric Unit of the Coimbra University Hospital, where I was trained in CBS clinical practise. After my MSc I did a professional voluntary internship where I applied ACT in women with eating difficulties. At this time, I became a collaborator at CINEICC (University of Coimbra), a research centre with a strong focus on CBS, and later a PhD student at the same centre. My PhD studies have two main focuses. The first is the analysis of the impact of processes such as experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, and shame on psychological and physical outcomes in chronic illness, which has provided interesting findings on the importance of these processes in several chronic health conditions. The most relevant published paper from my PhD studies to date has longitudinally demonstrated that cognitive fusion predicts the evolution of psychological as well as physical health among inflammatory bowel disease patients. The second focus of my PhD was to integrate acceptance, mindfulness and compassion-based psychotherapies in one intervention adapted to cancer patients, the MIND (as in “mentality” and “care”) programme. I applied this intervention to groups of breast cancer patients as principal therapist. The feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the intervention have been demonstrated (paper under review).

Autobiography:
I was born and raised in Coimbra, a city in the centre of Portugal. I’m a 4th year PhD student in Clinical Psychology at CINEICC, University of Coimbra, Portugal, working with Dr. José Pinto-Gouveia and Dr. Cláudia Ferreira. I discovered mindfulness meditation in my adolescence and have stuck with it almost ever since. In my master’s I started professional training in contemplative practices and CBS. Choosing to study CBS in chronic illness came from a personal motivation. Having been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease at 15, my late adolescence was marked by the adaptation to the illness, which now, after 12 years, I can say will probably never be over. This is my motivation to study chronic illness (and in particular inflammatory bowel disease) in my PhD studies, and I hope I am able to continue to do so. In my spare time I love to read and travel to places I’ve never been to. I’m also passionate about vegan cooking, interior design, and photography.

Future goals:
After my PhD, I have two main goals. The first is to adapt the MIND programme to inflammatory bowel disease and to test its efficacy on psychosocial outcomes on this population; the second (and more far away) goal is to test the effects of mindfulness and related processes on inflammation and other disease markers in inflammatory bowel disease patients.

Relevant publications:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjhp.12280/abstract

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00384-017-2774-z

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1359105315587142

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cpp.2035/abstract

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1359105317718925

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10620-015-3786-6

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10862-015-9509-7

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cpp.2125/abstract

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11136-016-1378-3

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03630242.2016.1267688

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/papt.12047/full

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019566631400227X

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1359105315573438

Congratulations to Adam Kuczynskion being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for September 2020!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts. This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Adam:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I am, at my core, a functional contextualist. My first experience in research was with Dr. Marsha Linehan, where I workid on a federally funded randomized trial of DBT for suicidal and self-harming adolescents. It was there where I was trained to view behavior from a functional perspective, influenced greatly by other third-wave therapies such as ACT and FAP. Shortly thereafter, I began working with Drs. Kohlenberg and Tsai in their efforts to establish a stronger empirical literature for FAP. Fast forward several years and I am now a fifth year graduate student at the University of Washington, where I have continued to pursue contextual-behavioral research agenda. For my master’s thesis, I led a multi-site scale development project aimed at measuring intimate relational functioning for use in FAP outcomes research. Since then, I have worked to develop CBS-informed interventions for couples and therapists at high risk of burnout, evaluated the current state of empirical research on FAP, and pursued research that aims to reduce the perpetration of racial microaggressions. Now, I am a lead researcher and study therapist on the largest-to-date randomized trial of FAP. My clinical work is also heavily influenced by CBS. I have worked with several clients in both inpatient and outpatient settings using ACT, FAP, and comprehensive DBT. I have reviewed several manuscript submissions for JCBS and served as the student representative for the FAP special interest group of ACBS since 2015. Last year, I served as a reviewer for the ACBS student spotlight awards.

Autobiography:
I am incredibly fortunate for the opportunities offered to me throughout my lifetime. As an undergraduate at the University of Washington, I worked with Dr. Marsha Linehan on a federally funded trial of DBT for adolescents who, despite their best efforts, struggled to build worth living. Shortly thereafter, Drs. Robert Kohlenberg and Mavis Tsai took me into their lab and trained me in the fundamental principles of FAP and contextual behavioral science. When Dr. Jonathan Kanter moved to the University of Washington, he hired me as his first research coordinator and then graduate student, we we have worked together on a variety of research projects aimed at improving social functioning and decreasing the perpetration of racial microaggressions. I am truly a product of my social environment and have worked diligently in my graduate career to pass my fortune along, particularly for underrepresented individuals in psychological science (e.g., students of color, first-generation students). For my dissertation, I am using idiographic research methods to understand how momentary feelings of loneliness are associated with changes in depressive symptomatology and hope to inform contextual-behavioral treatment efforts aimed at reducing the burden of these afflictions.

Future goals:
After graduate school, I hope to continue pursuing a research agenda focused on the ways in which social functioning outcomes can be improved by bridging the gap between CBS and relationship science.

Publications:

• Kuczynski, A. M., Kanter, J. W., & Robinaugh, D. J. (2019). Differential associations between interpersonal variables and quality-of-life in a sample of college students. Quality of Life Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-019-02298-3
• Kuczynski, A. M., Kanter, J. W., Wetterneck, C. T., Olaz, F. O., Singh, R. S., Lee, E. B., … Corey, M. D. (2019). Measuring intimacy as a contextual-behavioral process: Psychometric development and evaluation of the Awareness, Courage, and Responsiveness Scale. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.02.004
• Reyes Ortega, M. A., Kuczynski, A. M., Kanter, J. W., de Montis, I. A., & Santos, M. M. (2019). A preliminary test of a social connectedness burnout intervention for Mexican mental health professionals. The Psychological Record, 69(2), 267-276. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-019-00338-5
• Kanter, J. W., Kuczynski, A. M., Tsai, M., & Kohlenberg, R. J. (2018). A brief contextual-behavioral intervention to improve relationships: A randomized trial. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 10, 75-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2018.09.001
• Kanter, J. W., Manbeck, K. E., Kuczynski, A. M., Maitland, D .W. M., Villas-Bôas, A., & Reyes Ortega, M. A. (2017). A comprehensive review of research on Functional Analytic Psychotherapy. Clinical Psychology Review, 58, 141-156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.09.010
• Kanter, J. W., Williams, M. T., Kuczynski, A. M., Manbeck, K. E., Debreaux, M., & Rosen, D. C. (2017). A preliminary report on the relationship between microaggressions against Black people and racism among White college students. Race and Social Problems, 9(4), 291-299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-017-9214-0
• Maitland, D. W. M., Kanter, J. W., Manbeck, K. E., & Kuczynski, A. M. (2017). Relationship science informed clinically relevant behaviors in Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: The Awareness, Courage, and Love Model. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 6(4), 347-359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2017.07.002
• Maitland, D. W. M., Kanter, J. W., Tsai, M., Kuczynski, A. M., Manbeck, K. E., & Kohlenberg, R. J. (2016). Preliminary findings on the effects of online Functional Analytic Psychotherapy training on therapist competency. The Psychological Record, 66(4), 627-637. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-016-0198-8
• Haworth, K., Kanter, J. W., Tsai, M., Kuczynski, A. M., Rae, J. R., & Kohlenberg, R. J. (2015). Reinforcement matters: A preliminary, laboratory-based component-process analysis of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy's model of social connection. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 4(4), 281-291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2015.08.003
• Kohlenberg, R. J., Tsai, M., Kuczynski, A. M., Rae, J. R., Lagbas, E. Lo, J., & Kanter, J. W. (2015). A brief, interpersonally oriented mindfulness intervention incorporating Functional Analytic Psychotherapy's model of awareness, courage and love. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 4(2), 107-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2015.03.003

Congratulations to Alison Stapleton on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for October 2020!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Alison:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

Throughout my academic career, I have been involved in CBS research projects. My undergraduate thesis (in press in JCBS) examined the relationships between health values directed behavior and engagement in health-related behaviors. My first PhD study, examining adaptive correlates of adolescents’ generalized pliance, was also recently published in JCBS. I am currently extending this line of research, doing much-needed work to consolidate theoretical perspectives on rule-governed behavior, and using text-based conversational agents (chatbots) to promote flexible rule-following. Beyond my PhD research, I am the lead on a systematic review examining the use of metaphor in ACT and on a project evaluating brief ACT interventions for academic procrastination (funded by the Higher Education Authority). I recently contributed to a paper using the Functional Self-Discrimination Measure with members of the homeless population and I am coordinating a large cross-cultural study with CBS labs around the world. I am passionate about dissemination and making CBS accessible. In addition to publishing manuscripts and presenting CBS research at national and international conferences, I produce CBS videos and blog posts with an abundance of pop culture references to facilitate effective and engaging knowledge transfer. I am also currently contributing to outreach programs that aim to provide the public with CBS skills to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., the #FEELINGBetter initiative and Power of Small Workshops). I truly believe CBS can alleviate human suffering if we strive to collaborate, engage in effective knowledge transfer, and produce high-quality research, all practices I am committed to.

Autobiography:

I’m from Dublin, Ireland, and was the first in my family to attend university, graduating from University College Dublin with a BA in Psychology. I was introduced to CBS by my BA thesis supervisor, Professor Louise McHugh, who then took me on for my PhD. Now in the second year of my PhD, I realize how exceptionally lucky I’ve been. Being able to work and grow within the CBS community, while having an exemplary mentor who truly cares about my development, is an absolute privilege. CBS has completely changed my life, from the philosophical approach I adopt in my research, to the ACT techniques I use to manage everyday living. Through the CBS community, I have met amazing friends and collaborators who have been instrumental in supporting my research. Being able to conduct cross-cultural research within a range of contexts has been invaluable, allowing me to start making a serious contribution to the CBS literature. My main topic of interest is rule-following with regard to cultural context, gender, and socio-economic status. I am currently trying to enhance our understanding of rule-following in accordance with RFT and developing interventions to enhance adolescents’ flexible rule-following. When I am not stressing about my PhD, you can find me crying over the “purple book” and justifying my Netflix binging by saying it facilitates me living in line with my value of “Connection”. I still have a lot to learn, but I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to do so within our CBS community.

Future goals:

I want to continue increasing accessibility to CBS and engaging in collaborative projects alongside CBS labs around the world to stay in academia and make a meaningful contribution to the ACBS community.

Relevant publications:

Stapleton, A. (2020). Choosing not to follow rules that will reduce the spread of COVID-19. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 17, 73-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.07.002

Stapleton, A. & McHugh, L. (2020). Adolescent correlates of the Generalized Pliance Questionnaire – Children. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 15, 131-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.12.006

Stapleton, A., O’Connor, M., Feerick, E., Kerr, J. & McHugh, L. (2020). Testing the relationship between health values consistent living and health-related behavior. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 17, 17-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.05.002

Stapleton, A., Ruiz, F. J., & McHugh, L. (2020). Comparative investigation of adolescents’ generalized pliance and psychological inflexibility across cultural contexts. The Psychological Record. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-020-00412-3

Stapleton, A. & McHugh, L. (2020, February 5). Rule one: No rules! [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://science.abainternational.org/rule-one-no-rules/louise-mchughucd-ie/ 

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Congratulations to Amanda Chastain on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for August 2022!

Learn more about Amanda Chastain:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

I have participated in the CBS community through my research and practice over the last number of years. After becoming completely captivated by what Relational Frame Theory and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy had to offer, I worked to expand my understanding of the relationship between complex verbal behavior and our environment, in generating and refining tools such as ACT to more systematically and efficiently support individuals, and in closing the gap between research and practice within complex verbal behavior and psychological well-being.

I volunteered at the University of Southern California, where I worked with the students and faculty to develop and conduct research in ACT. Examples of projects include the effects of ACT on staff burnout in ABA, physical health of college students, ACT for individuals with developmental disabilities, and studying the effects of components of ACT on delay discounting. I have also worked with a team of scientist-practitioners in the development of the ACT Functional Analysis.

During my time as a Clinician/BCBA, I was given many opportunities to train others in my field on how to incorporate RFT and ACT into their programming. Simultaneously, I was a co-author of an article outlining how ACT may be useful in promoting psychological flexibility at the beginning of the pandemic, and for the chapter on ACT in ABA in the Oxford Handbook of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. I regularly present at conferences in the form of posters and symposia, in addition to the occasional workshop or invited talk for ABA and ACT organizations.

Autobiography:

I completed my master’s degree in Psychology (Applied Behavior Analysis) at California State University, Sacramento, where I studied verbal behavior and stimulus equivalence. Through evaluating verbal behavior around my own struggles, I realized that it plays an important role in psychological well-being and the way that we experience the world around us, leading to my obsession with ACT and RFT.

Realizing then that my lifelong academic journey was just beginning, I moved to Los Angeles to receive training and supervision in ACT. During this time, I worked as a Senior Research Associate at the University of Southern California under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Tarbox and as a Lab Manager for the ACT/Prosocial lab with Dr. Thomas Szabo. With the support of my mentors, I worked to build upon my existing knowledge in verbal behavior, relational frame theory, and ACT, while participating in several publications and conference presentations along the way. As a result of my mentors’ ongoing support, I have also been invited to give additional trainings for BCBAs to do my part in closing the gap between research and practice.

I am currently working on my PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, under the co-supervision of Dr. Mark Dixon and Dr. Tamar Heller. This has allowed me the opportunity to continue basic, translational, and applied research in complex verbal behavior and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, while also working towards making a career out of my greatest passion by becoming a professor.

Future goals:

I hope to contribute to our understanding of complex verbal behavior at the group and individual levels for the purpose of refining current interventions (e.g., ACT, Prosocial) to make them more individualized, systematic, effective, and efficient.

Relevant publications:

Tarbox, J., Chastain, A. N. & Szabo, T.G. (In press). Acceptance and commitment therapy inside behavior analysis. In Twohig, M.P., Levin, M.E., & Petersen, J.M. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Oxford University Press.

Chastain, A.N., Tarbox, J., Meshes, E., Wang, Y. (2022). A Pilot Study: Evaluating the Effects of Defusion on Choice Making Under Negative and Positive Reinforcement Contingencies. The Psychological Record. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-022-00511-3 (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40732-022-00511-3)

Chastain, A.N, Love, S., Luoma, S., Miguel, C.(2022) The Role of Irrelevant, Class-Consistent, and Class-Inconsistent Intraverbals on the Establishment of Equivalence Classes. The Psychological Record. https://doi.org/10.10071540732-021-00492-9 (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40732-021-00492-9)

Pyles, M.L., Chastain, A.N. & Miguel, C.F. (2021) Teaching Children with Autism to Mand for Information Using “Why?” as a Function of Denied Access. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40616-020-00141-2 (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40616-020-00141-2)

Wang, Y., Tarbox, J., Chastain, A., Cameron, M. (2020). The Effects of Bilingual Acceptance and Commitment Training on Exercise in Bilingual International University Students. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.08.002 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221214472030168X)

Tarbox, C.M., Silverman, E.A., Chastain, A.N., Little, A., Bermudez, T.L., Tarbox, J. (2020).Taking ACTion: 18 Simple Strategies for Supporting Children With Autism During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Behavior Analysis in Practice. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00448-5 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7466929/)

Congratulations to Amanda Rhodes on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for September 2018!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Amanda:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I became involved in the CBS community during the first year of my doctoral program in Combined Clinical and School Psychology at Kean University in the Greater New York City Area. I began my journey by researching psychological flexibility and emotion regulation in undergraduate students. In addition, my interest in CBS sparked my applied ACT work with clinical populations. In the past few years, I have expanded my use of ACT and other mindfulness-based approaches (ERT) to in clinical populations including college students, adult outpatient, adult inpatient, and medical populations. Through my doctoral work, I have become increasingly interested in co-occurring psychological and physiological difficulties. My doctoral dissertation examined how risk of opioid misuse is affected by pain severity, pain interference, and early aversive histories in patients with noncancerous chronic pain. My data analysis suggested that psychological flexibility (examined by the AAQ-II) plays a significant and specific role in many of these pathways, providing important information on the developing opioid crisis in the United States and around the world. I look forward to presenting this data in an accepted symposium at ACBS World Conference 16 titled “ACT for People with Pain: What We Still Have to Learn.” Next year, I am continuing my CBS journey through an APA-accredited internship at Brattleboro Retreat (Vermont, US) rolling out ACT for trauma in uniformed service personnel and a Mind-Body Pain Management program.

Autobiography:
I was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City. I am currently a 4th doctoral candidate in Combined Clinical and School Psychology at Kean University. Before my doctoral studies, I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. I’ve been developing my theoretical orientation in contextual behavioral science my whole life, but just didn’t know it. Long hikes with my dad to remote mountain peaks were exercises in mindfulness -- tuning into the beauty of nature while observing, with curiosity, variations in my inner human experience. Growing up with the freedom to pursue my dreams and take responsibility for my own life was existentialism before I even knew how to spell it. Ultimately, I was drawn instantly to ACT with its blend of mindfulness- and acceptance-based behaviorism and values-based existentialism. I have been studying, exploring, and applying ACT since the day it was introduced to me and I look forward to a life time of inquiry and curiosity in the CBS community. Now that my dissertation is defended, I have been able to shift my attention towards other important life values like yoga, hiking with my dog, Karl, and spending time with family, friends, and husband.

Future goals:
In the near future, I have two main goals. The first is to conduct more research on the underlying mechanisms influencing the subjective experience of physical pain and become certified in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in order to expand my applied clinical work with pain populations. My second goal (value) is to lean in to the 'full catastrophe' of everything that life as to offer and the many challenges ahead as I develop my professional identity as a future clinical health psychologist.

Congratulations to Anne I. Roche on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for March 2021!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Anne I. Roche:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

My research as a graduate student has focused on the association between acceptance and mindfulness processes and behavioral, physical, and psychological outcomes. I have studied acceptance and mindfulness across the lifespan, from adolescence to older adulthood. My principal aim is to contribute to the identification of modifiable targets for psychological intervention. My dissertation project, mentored by my wonderful advisor Dr. Natalie Denburg, is a randomized controlled trial examining the impact of group ACT on psychological outcomes (e.g., well-being) in community-dwelling older adults. Older adults inevitably experience a variety of life changes, and the limited research focused on promoting well-being in this population is a diversity issue at both an individual and societal level. I am hopeful that my dissertation will provide useful insights into the potential utility of acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions in this growing proportion of our population. Concurrently, our group is working to validate existing ACT measures this population. Most recently, I have contributed to research examining mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and how ACT processes may serve as protective factors during this time period.

Clinically, I have had strong training in ACT and other CBS-based interventions from mentors such as Dr. James Marchman and Dr. Emily Kroska at the University of Iowa. Beyond the excellent training in my graduate program, I have sought additional in-person and online training workshops from CBS practitioners. I have had the opportunity to deliver CBS-based interventions in a variety of different settings and with both individuals and groups with diverse presenting concerns. I have delivered ACT interventions with domestic violence victims (group setting), with domestic violence offenders (individually), and with community-dwelling older adults (group setting). Additionally, I have had the opportunity to provide tiered teaching and supervision to junior clinical psychology students in delivering evidence-based behavioral interventions.

Autobiography:

I am a sixth-year graduate student at the University of Iowa, where I am mentored by Dr. Natalie Denburg. I am currently completing my clinical internship at the University of Kansas Medical Center. I was introduced to ACT during my first year of graduate school, and I was immediately hooked. I have had the opportunity to be trained in functional contextualism by exceptional teachers such as Dr. James Marchman and Dr. Emily Kroska who have instilled in me a passion for learning, delivering, sharing, teaching, and living ACT. I have now had the chance to attend three ACBS World Conferences which have inspired and fed my curiosity and desire to learn. I hope to pursue a career that allows me to combine clinical, research, teaching, and supervision activities that will contribute to the CBS community and help to impact lives with CBS approaches.

Outside of my graduate training, my values include my amazing and loving family and my dear friends. Years ago, I played college basketball, and I still very much enjoy following sports, being active, and spending time outdoors.

Future goals:

I hope to pursue a career that allows me to explore, deliver, teach/supervise, and disseminate ACT and other CBS-based interventions.

Relevant publications:

Kroska, E.B., Roche, A. I., Adamowicz, J.L., & Stegall, M.S. (2020). Psychological flexibility in the context of COVID-19 adversity: Associations with distress. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 18, 28-33.   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7406424/

Kroska, E.B., Roche, A.I., & O’Hara, M.W. (2020). How much is enough in brief acceptance and commitment therapy? Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 15, 235-244.   https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212144719302364?via%3Dihub

Green, M. A., Miles, L., Sage, E., Smith, J., Carlson, G., Hogan, K., Bogucki, J., Ferenzi, L., Hartman, E., Tao, Y., Peng, Y., Roche, A.I., Bolenbaugh, M.A., Wienkes, C., Garrison, Y., & Eilers, S. ... & Peng, Y. (2020). Cardiac biomarkers of disordered eating as a function of diagnostic subtypes. Eating Behaviors, 39, 101425.

Howren, M.B, Christensen, A.J., & Roche, A.I. (2020). Cognitive behavioral and eHealth approaches to promote engagement in treatment. In A. Hadler, S. Sutton, & L. Osterberg, (Eds), The Wiley Handbook of Healthcare Treatment Engagement (pp. 223-242). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781119129530.ch12

Roche, A.I. (2019). Testing for testamentary capacity in the older adult: A model of ethical considerations for the clinical neuropsychologist. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1905.

Pierson, M.M., Roche, A.I., & Denburg, N.L. (2019). Mindfulness, experiential avoidance, and affective experience in older adults. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 14, 32-36.  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212144719300341

Roche, A.I., Kroska, E.B., & Denburg, N.L. (2019). Acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions for smoking cessation and weight loss: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 13, 74-93. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212144718302722

Vélez-Bermúdez, M., Christensen, A. J., Kinner, E. M., Roche, A. I., & Fraer, M. (2019). Exploring the relationship between patient activation, treatment satisfaction, and decisional conflict in patients approaching end stage renal disease. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 53, 816-826.

Roche, A.I., Kroska, E.B., Miller, M.M., Kroska, S.K., & O’Hara, M.W. (2019). Childhood trauma and problem behaviors: Examining the mediating roles of experiential avoidance and mindfulness processes. Journal of American College Health, 67, 17-26. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07448481.2018.1455689

Kroska, E.B.*, Roche, A.I.*, & O’Hara, M.W. (2018). Childhood trauma and somatization: Identifying mechanisms for targeted intervention. Mindfulness, 9, 1845-1856. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-018-0927-y

Kroska, E. B., Miller, M. L., Roche, A. I., Kroska, S. K., & O’Hara, M. W. (2018). Effects of traumatic experiences on obsessive-compulsive and internalizing symptoms: The role of avoidance and mindfulness. Journal of Affective Disorders, 225, 326-336. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032717308005

Manuscripts Under Review

Roche, A. I., Adamowicz, J. L., Stegall, M. S., Toovey, C.R., & Kroska, E.B. (under review). College student resilience during COVID-19: Examining the roles of mindfulness, compassion, and prosocial behavior.

Congratulations to Carter Haskell Davis on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for February 2022!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Carter Haskell Davis:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

I was first introduced to CBS in 2013, when I volunteered to teach art classes at a psychiatric hospital where there happened to be very active ACT research and implementation going on. It changed the course of my life professionally and personally. I was working in the fine arts field at the time, and decided to switch careers and eventually pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. This was because I saw the potential of CBS to help so many people who were suffering deeply. It also expanded my own worldview in a way that has brought me so much joy. Professionally, I worked full time in an ACT for psychosis lab with Brandon Gaudiano at Brown University for two years. Brandon taught me how to be a scientist. I then entered grad school where I have been conducting research for four years with Michael Levin and Michael Twohig in the ACT Research Group at Utah State University. My research focuses on widespread dissemination of ACT through accessible self-help means in order to fill critical caps in public health. For instance, my dissertation project is a clinical trial of antidepressants versus a storytelling-based ACT intervention for individuals who are not currently working with a mental health professional. I also work as a therapist in an ACT speciality clinic where I treat both community members as well as Division I student-athletes at Utah State.

Autobiography:

I relate strongly to the notion of the wounded healer. A number of my family members struggled with addictions or mental health challenges when I was growing up. Embracing ACT has helped me, years later, to view their stories as complicated and courageous. I was raised in New York City, where I was fortunate to “grow up fast” and encounter cultures from all around the world. As early as I can remember, I wanted to be an artist, and I went on to study printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design. I worked in a handful of fine arts printing presses and fell in love with the beauty and tradition of this discipline. However, an opportunity to volunteer to teach art at a psychiatric hospital nearly ten years ago changed the course of my career. I am now a 4th-year PhD student in Clinical Psychology at Utah State University. I have completely fallen for the beauty and spaciousness of the Mountain West and how it compares to my urban upbringing. I recently started painting after many years, and it has been very meaningful to awaken this part of myself again. I also lead occasional meditation groups in my city, which I see as an important means of building wellness and community.

Future goals:

I hope to become a clinical psychologist who both provides treatment and conducts research so that CBS can touch even more areas where there is suffering.

Relevant publications:

Davis, C.H., Gaudiano, B.A., McHugh, L., & Levin, M.E. (2021). Integrating storytelling into the science and practice of contextual behavioral science. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 20, 155-162.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2021.04.004

Davis, C.H., Krafft, J., Hicks, E.T., & Levin, M.E. (2021). The role of psychological inflexibility and perspective taking in anti-racism and anti-sexism. Personality and Individual Differences, 175.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110724

Gaudiano, B.A., Davis, C.H., Miller, I.W., & Uebelacker, L.A. (2020). Pilot randomized controlled trial of a video self-help intervention for depression based on acceptance and commitment therapy: Feasibility and acceptability. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 27(3), 396-407. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2436

Congratulations to Clarissa Ong on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for December 2019!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Clarissa:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I started researching and practicing ACT in 2015 in graduate school under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Twohig. My research in ACT initially focused on obsessive-compulsive and related presentations, especially hoarding, and broadened to functionally defined presentations like clinical perfectionism. My dissertation examined the effect of ACT on clinical perfectionism and, more broadly, tested the feasibility of using a process-based approach to treat a functionally defined concern. Currently, my research focuses on evaluating interventions and assessments through the lens of process-based therapy and using theory and data to make treatments more parsimonious, effective, and accessible to those who need them. I have also used ACT in my clinical practicums in various formats including individual therapy in a community clinic and group therapy in a residential eating disorder treatment center. While ACT is a central piece of my work, I see clinical RFT, functional contextualism, and the model of process-based therapy as comprising the theoretical backdrop for my research and clinical endeavors. Thus, I strive to actively incorporate scientific principles, empirical evidence, and considerations of individual characteristics in my case conceptualizations and study designs. Given my value of supporting others in their pursuit of fulfilling lives, I hope to use my knowledge and skills to develop effective, efficient, and accessible treatments so the mental health field can maximize the positive impact of available resources.

Autobiography:
I spent the first 18 years of my life in Singapore and attended college in Massachusetts where I grew to value social consciousness and activism. My value of equity has driven me to investigate ways to make helpful treatments more accessible and to consider how intersecting identities influence the people with whom I work including clients and colleagues. I have been living in Utah for the past 4.5 years attending graduate school at Utah State University. This is where I fell in love with the mountains and rock climbing, which is what you will find me doing when I am not working or sleeping. Besides climbing, I like reading, watching The Great British Bakeoff, scrolling through dog adoption webpages, and learning how to make downward-facing dog a resting pose in yoga.

Future goals:
My goal is to use my knowledge and skills to develop effective, efficient, and accessible treatments that will empower people to move toward the life they freely choose for themselves.

Relevant publications:
Ong, C. W., Barney, J. L., Barrett, T. S., Lee, E. B., Levin, M. E., & Twohig, M. P. (2019). The role of psychological inflexibility and self-compassion in acceptance and commitment therapy for clinical perfectionism. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 13, 7-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.06.005

Ong, C. W., Lee, E. B., Krafft, J., Terry, C. L., Barrett, T. S., Levin, M. E., & Twohig, M. P. (2019). A randomized controlled trial of acceptance and commitment therapy for clinical perfectionism. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 22, 100444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2019.100444

Ong, C. W.*, Lee, E. B.*, Levin, M. E., & Twohig, M. P. (2019). A review of AAQ variants and other context-specific measures of psychological flexibility. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 12, 329-346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.02.007 [*Co-first authors.]

Congratulations to Conor McCloskey on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for February 2023!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Conor McCloskey:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

My ongoing PhD research looks at Rule-Following in line with Relational Frame Theory, and how it can help improve clinical practice. This basic work has previously been used to develop theories about clinical communication (i.e. how clinicians should talk to their clients to maximise treatment effectiveness), such as the use of metaphors in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. My PhD is seeking to understand the precise contribution that rule-governed behaviour plays in this process. Additionally, I am working on a rule-governed behaviour study looking at the role that generalised pliance plays within educational choice in low-income communities, as in Ireland, many individuals from underprivileged communities do not attend college despite it being free. Coming from a similar low-income background, I believe that my basic research can go on to produce better outcomes in these communities. I have published research around rule-governed behaviour and COVID-19 public health adherence in the past. I have also volunteered in a number of roles for the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS), most notably as the incoming President of the Contextual Philosophy of Science Special Interest Group within ACBS, as well as a number of smaller roles such as a member of the EvoSci Special Interest Group Sprint Group, in which we set out to better clarify the purpose of the group. Overall, I am a passionate CBS researcher and an engaged member of ACBS.

Autobiography:

I recall being interested in psychology from a very young age, primarily stemming from a will to understand why people act badly when there is so much good in the world. This interest guided me very gradually to a to a lecture on relational frame theory (RFT) that I attended as a second year undergraduate student. The elegance of the theory instantly captured my interest more than anything I had ever come across prior to that, and since then I have spent countless hours studying RFT in order to better understand it and to understand how I can contribute to it. This passion brought me to the University College Dublin Contextual Behavioural Science lab, where I conduct research under the supervision of Professor Louise McHugh and with the guidance of the other lab members. The level of brilliance that emanates from this lab is like nothing I have ever witnessed, and I believe that the support and kindness of its coordinator and members, past and present, is the key to the research that comes out from it.

Outside of my research I am a keen reader with a particular fondness for the Irish writer James Joyce. I have written about Joyce and CBS principles for public readership in the past. I am also a keen musician – when I was younger I knew I wanted to be a famous musician if I couldn’t be a psychologist.

Future goals:

I aim to continue to work a basic RFT researcher and to explore the philosophical foundations of CBS and the developmental account of derived relational responding.

Relevant publications:

McCloskey, C., Stapleton, A., Collins, S., Hagshenas, P., Kelly, J., Kenny, S., Rodin, C., & McHugh, L. (2022). The Psychometric Properties of the Values Clarity Questionnaire and its Relationship to Psychological Flexibility. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/z9p6x

Stapleton, A., McCloskey, C. & McHugh, L., (2022). Exploring the relationships between rule-governed behavior and adherence to guidelines aiming to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 25, 73-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2022.06.005

McCloskey, C. (2022). Evolutionary Science in Joyce’s Ulysses. This View of Life. https://thisviewoflife.com/evolutionary-science-in-joyces-ulysses/

McCloskey, C. (2020). Effective Communication and Vaccinations: An Uphill Battle. The College Tribune. https://collegetribune.ie/effective-communication-and-vaccinations-an-uphill-battle/

Congratulations to Diana Cox on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for September 2024!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Diana Cox

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

My first introduction to contextual behavioral science (CBS) was when I worked with veterans who had HIV in the Washington DC VA’s Infectious Disease Clinic. Though my traditional cognitive behavioral therapy knowledge was useful in this setting, I noticed that my patients, many of whom had been living with their chronic illness for years, responded positively to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). This informed my decision to gain more intensive ACT training by working with Miranda Morris and Evan Marks at their ACT-focused private practice, True North, so I could better understand the theoretical underpinnings of this orientation. At True North, I became familiar with how functional contextualism, relational frame theory, and CBS inform ACT, which has greatly enhanced my clinical practice. After training at True North, I continued my CBS-informed training at NIH to learn how to better tailor my ACT interventions to diverse patient populations living with chronic illness and undergoing stem cell transplants. At NIH, I am developing a project focused on how illness identity is informed by principles of CBS and how the medical and psychological communities can better support individuals affected by lifelong chronic illness. I am also involved on a novel research protocol investigating the feasibility and efficacy of ACT for sleep disturbance in patients with sickle cell disease. For this project, I am providing sleep training from an ACT perspective to sickle cell patients. Furthermore, I regularly attend CBS workshops hosted by ACBS practitioners in my geographic area and across the country.

Autobiography:

My first experience with chronic disease was when my father was diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer. As a young girl, I did not fully grasp the intensity of his cancer treatment and how it impacted his physical and mental health. It was only years later when he shared a diary he kept of his treatment experiences that I began to understand what he went through. This diary not only opened my eyes to the pain and isolation he experienced as a cancer patient, but also his resilience in a time of great adversity. My reflections upon his cancer journey and the lasting impact it had on me and my family drove me to pursue a career dedicated to supporting the emotional needs of medical patients navigating challenging diagnoses.

When I started graduate school, learning therapy filled me with excitement as my professional dreams were becoming fully realized. Beneath my enthusiasm, I had questions about how certain therapeutic techniques would generalize to medical patient populations. How would I use cognitive restructuring with a cancer patient who has concerns about remission? How would I adapt behavioral activation for someone with a disability status due to their chronic condition? These questions lead me to learning ACT and I immediately felt at home in its theoretical orientation. ACT helps me conceptualize my chronic illness patients from a more humanistic perspective and less diagnostically. As I look towards my future career, I hope to continue helping patients improve their quality of life through values-based living.

Future goals:

My career goal is to clinically and empirically apply principles of contextual behavioral science to improve the quality of life of individuals and caregivers impacted by chronic illness.

PEER-REVIEWED BOOK CHAPTERS 

Cox, D. J., Behar, E., Gunthert, K. C. Tripartite Model of Anxiety and Depression (in press). In D. G. Friedman-Wheeler (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Mood and Anxiety Disorders. Sage Publications. 

Cox, D. J., Sullivan, T. R., E., Mereish, E. H. Facilitating Identity Development and Affirmation among LGBTQ+ People (under revision). In N. Livingston, B. Feinstein, & P. Galupo (Eds.), Addressing Minority Stress and Enhancing Resilience in Therapy with Diverse LGBTQ+ Clients. Springer Nature. 

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES 

Murphy, E.R., Cox, D. J., Fisseha, F., Gunthert, K.C., (2023) Category-Specific Stress Mindsets: Beliefs about the Debilitating Versus Enhancing Effects of Specific Types of Stressors among Young Adults. Behavioral Sciences, 13(9), 709. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13090709 

Mereish, E. H., Cox, D. J., Goldbach, J. T. (2022). Homophobic Bullying Victimization and Perpetration and Substance Use among Heterosexual Adolescents. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-022-10109-2 

Mereish, E. H., Cox, D. J., Harris, J. C., Anderson, Q. R., Hawthorne, D. J. (2020). Familial Influences, Shame, Guilt, and Depression among Sexual Minority Adolescents. Family Relations. 70(5), 1546-1555. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12514 

MANUSRCRIPTS UNDER REVIEW & IN PREPARATION 

Loucas, C., Taouk, L., Cox, D. J., Gunthert., K. C. The Efficacy of a Three-Week Stress Mindset Intervention with Daily Rehearsal on Psychological Health and Daily Cognitive-Emotional Functioning (under revision). Anxiety, Stress, and Coping.

Congratulations to Diane Dallal on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for August 2020!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Diane:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
Since beginning graduate school, I have developed a deep interest in understanding, developing, and improving mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions for behavioral health populations. In joining a research lab devoted to optimizing ACT for individuals with obesity and eating disorders, I have had the opportunity to receive extensive research and clinical training in these interventions. As my interest in ACT – and CBS more broadly – has grown, I have begun pursuing an independent line of research devoted to identifying and evaluating mechanistic factors that influence ACT treatment outcomes for individuals with obesity. Recently, I completed my CBS-driven Master’s thesis project, in which I dismantled and isolated the values component of ACT for weight control, developed an analog values-based weight loss intervention, and evaluated target engagement of theorized mechanisms inherent in the valuing process. I have also developed of the field’s first measure of values clarity and values awareness, presented my independent CBS-based research at four national conferences, and co-authored two manuscripts and book chapters on innovations in ACT for obesity and physical activity. In tandem with my research, my clinical interests have grown to center around CBS interventions for individuals with weight and eating disorders, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders. In my current practicum placement and study therapist roles, I have been able to deliver ACT in both group and individual treatments. I have also had the opportunity to receive supervision in the application of CBS principles for weight and eating disorders, and to provide didactic training to my peers.

Autobiography:
I am a native Californian who was born and raised in Los Angeles. After receiving my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, I worked as a research coordinator at the UCLA Anxiety and Depression Research Center. Currently, I am a third year Clinical Psychology doctoral student at Drexel University working under the mentorship of Evan Forman, Ph.D., where my clinical and research interests center around developing and improving treatments for individuals with obesity and eating disorders. In particular, I am interested in the use of mindfulness and acceptance-based treatments to understand and intervene on cognitive and affective mechanisms that maintain unhealthy eating. Upon completion of my doctoral training, I hope to continue integrating ACT into my research and practice as a clinical psychologist for individuals struggling with behavioral health disorders. I believe my continued efforts to grow as an ACT practitioner will aid in my ability to help individuals build lives in line with the values that drive them. In pursuit of a values-driven life of my own, I enjoy reading, performing at open mic nights, watching musical theater, and spending quality time with loved ones (and their dogs).

Future goals:
Upon completion of my doctoral training, I hope to continue integrating ACT into my research and practice as a clinical psychologist for individuals struggling with behavioral health disorders.

Publications:

• Lillis, J., Dallal, D.H., & Forman, E.M. (in press). Innovations in applying ACT for obesity and physical activity. In Levin, M.E., Twohig, M.P., & Krafft, J. (Eds.), Innovations in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Clinical advancements and applications in ACT. (Chapter 9). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
• Forman, E.M., Manasse, S.M., Butryn, M.L., Crosby, R.D., Dallal, D.H., & Crochiere, R.J. (2019). Long-term follow-up of the Mind Your Health Project: Acceptance-based versus standard behavioral treatment for obesity. Obesity, 27(4), 565-571.

Manuscripts in Preparation:

• Dallal, D.H. & Forman, E.M. (Manuscript in preparation). Can an acceptance-based smartphone application for weight loss promote change in ACT-based mechanistic processes?
• Dallal, D.H. & Forman, E.M. (Manuscript in preparation). Clarifying the role of values in weight control: A pilot study of a values-based intervention to promote weight loss.
• Dallal, D.H. & Forman, E.M. (Manuscript in preparation). The Values Interview: Developing and validating a new measure of values clarity and values awareness.

Conference Presentations:

• Dallal, D.H. & Forman, E.M. (2020, July). The Values Interview: Developing and validating a new measure of values clarity and values awareness. In Assessing CBS constructs with precision and validity. Paper to be presented at the 18th Annual World Conference of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science.
• Dallal, D.H. & Forman, E.M. (2020, April). Clarifying the role of values in weight control: A pilot study of a values-based intervention to promote weight loss. Poster to be presented at the 41st Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, San Francisco, CA.
• Dallal, D.H. & Forman, E.M. (2019, Nov.). Can an acceptance-based smartphone application for weight loss promote change in ACT-based mechanistic processes? Poster presented at the Behavioral Medicine and Integrated Primary Care Special Interest Group Exposition at the 53rd Annual Convention of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Atlanta, GA.
• Dallal, D.H., Manasse, S.M., Lampe, E., & Forman, E.M. (2019, March). Examining the utility of three acceptance-based skills in facilitating weight change in the behavioral treatment of obesity. Poster presented at the 40th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Washington, D.C.
• Forman, E.M., Butryn, M.L., Manasse, S.M., Crosby, R.D., Dallal, D.H., & Crochiere, R.J. (2019, March). RCT of an acceptance-based behavioral treatment for obesity: Weight and quality of life across 3 years. Paper presented at the 40th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Washington, D.C.
• Dallal, D.H., Shaw Tronieri, J., Manasse, S.M., & Forman, E.M. (2018, April). Development of a measure of values clarity in a behavioral weight loss-seeking sample. Poster presented at the 39th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, New Orleans, LA.

Congratulations to Duckhyun Jo on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for February 2024!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Duckhyun Jo

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

My scholarly works are firmly rooted in the framework of Contextual Behavioral Science (CBS), a systematic and pragmatic approach to the understanding of human behavior. My research program focuses on three key strategic areas. First, my research has centered on understanding the process of change within the CBS. Over the past few years, I have concentrated on assessing the conceptual and psychometric validity of various measures within the CBS. I have applied both traditional and modern test theory techniques to establish validity evidence for recently developed measures. Furthermore, I have investigated the roles of each process in various contexts, such as eating disorders and mood disorders. Second, I have examined potential risk and protective factors for mental health within diverse populations. Hawai‘i, due to its racial diversity, has provided an ideal environment for my research, and I have recently expanded the understanding of this population within the framework of the CBS. Finally, my interest extends to the application of innovative modalities in intervention sciences. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, novel forms of psychotherapy have gained widespread adoption, and I have conducted research on the effectiveness of metaverse psychotherapy. My ultimate goal is to explore the effects of psychotherapies informed by CBS within newly developed platforms, such as the metaverse or virtual reality.

Autobiography:

I am currently a fourth-year doctoral student pursuing clinical psychology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. My academic focus centers on understanding the intricate, dynamic, and transdiagnostic aspects of psychological flexibility. To achieve this, I am keen on employing diverse methodologies, including item response theory, network analysis, and mixed-effect modeling. My educational background includes a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a master's degree in Clinical and Counseling Psychology, both earned from Korea University. Additionally, I have accumulated over five years of experience in Sri Lanka, Laos, and Thailand, actively contributing to international development initiatives aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Outside my academic pursuits, I relish spending quality time with my family, exploring the beautiful landscapes of Hawaii, particularly its picturesque mountains and beaches.

Future goals:

I aspire to pursue a career as a clinical researcher in an academic setting to contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge in the field of CBS.

Publications:

11. Im, S., Jo, D., & Lee, S. (Accepted). Exploring the Impact of Therapeutic Presence on Working Alliance in Metaverse Counseling. Counseling Psychologist

10. Jo, D., Seong, B., & Yang, E. (2023). Psychometric properties of the Psy-flex scale: A validation study in a community sample in Korea. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. 30, 70-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2023.09.004

9. Jo, D., Im, S., Suh, D., Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2023). The Personalized Psychological Flexibility Index (PPFI): An Item Response Theory Analysis with Racially Diverse College Students. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-023-10076-2

8. Jo, D. & Kim, H. (2023). Network Analysis of Depressive Symptoms in South Korean Adults: Similarities and differences between women and men. Current Psychology, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04824-6

7. Jo, D., Woo, S., & Yang, E. (2022). Role of Family Acculturation Stress in Career Development Among Adolescents From Multicultural Families in Korea. Journal of Career Development. https://doi.org/10.1177/08948453221131362

6. Spencer, S. D., Jo, D., Hamagami, F., Antonio, M., Qinaʻau. J., Masuda, A., & Hishinuma, E. (2022). A Preliminary Psychometric Validation of Contextual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Informed Measures with Racially and Ethnically Diverse Adults. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 25, 61-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2022.06.004

5. Nakamura, L., Jo, D., & Masuda, A. (2022). Mental Health Help-Seeking Experience and Attitudes in Asian American, Multiracial American, and White. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling 44(3), 432-452. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-022-09470-4

4. Jo, D., Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2022). Mindfulness as a Moderator of the Relationship between Engaged Living and Depression in Emerging Adulthood. Mindfulness, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01831-9

3. Jo, D., Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2022). Mindfulness attenuates the positive association between disordered eating cognition and disordered eating behavior in a sample of college women. Current Psychology, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00969-w

2. Jo D., & Yang E. (2019). The role of awareness and cognitive fusion with food craving in the relationship between depression and binge eating. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 13, 126-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.08.001

1. Son Y. M., Woo S., Jo D., & Yang E. (2018). The role of relationship quality on social media in college-to-work transition of Korean college students: The longitudinal examination of intimacy on social media, social capital, and loneliness. Japanese Psychological Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpr.12234

Congratulations to Emily Brenny Kroska on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for July 2017!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Emily:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I began learning ACT during my first year at the University of Iowa from Dr. James Marchman. Since that time, I have focused much of my research on exploring avoidance as a target for intervention, as well as intervention and prevention efforts with ACT. I completed a meta-analysis of the association between avoidance and pain intensity among chronic pain patients, as well as several studies examining avoidance as a mediator of the association between traumatic experiences and adverse outcomes, including obsessive-compulsive symptoms, internalizing symptoms, somatic symptoms, and problematic health behaviors. In addition, I have collaborated with community organizations, including an alternative high school and the Iowa Department of Corrections, to develop and implement interventions within these contexts to integrate ACT into the community. As a volunteering effort, I worked with children involved in Boys and Girls Club in Iowa to deliver brief ACT interventions to both the children and their parents. Furthermore, my dissertation is examining the question of how much is enough in brief Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, comparing three single session time-variant group ACT interventions.

Autobiography:
I am a fifth year doctoral candidate at the University of Iowa, where I work with Dr. Michael O'Hara. In my time at Iowa, I have been fortunate to learn about functional contextualism from Dr. James Marchman, an expert clinician whose depth of ACT knowledge is remarkable. I was introduced to ACT in my first year at Iowa, and I have been able to work clinically with at-risk adolescents, prisoners, migraine patients, and depressed adults. My passion for ACT has grown as I have collaborated with community organizations and providers to integrate ACT into broader systems, including the Iowa Department of Correctional Services. In the future, I hope to broaden the contexts into which I can disseminate ACT and become an ACT trainer. I have found that the fundamental ACT processes apply to those from all walks of life, and the common humanity involved when implementing ACT creates space for clients to grow and evolve into a more flexible self. I firmly believe that if exposed to these skills at an early age, children and adolescents may experience a radical change in trajectory with regard to psychopathology, but more importantly, connection with values--both emotionally and behaviorally. In particular, children and adolescents who are at-risk may be particularly likely to benefit from early intervention. It is my hope that my career can be dedicated to the dissemination and implementation of ACT into contexts where I can directly intervene with at-risk populations, such as schools, medical settings, and prisons.

Future goals:
As a researcher, mentor, and clinician, I hope to disseminate acceptance- and mindfulness-based therapies into broader contexts of at-risk populations, where the principles can have a far-reaching impact upon both the individuals and the context itself.

Relevant publications:
Emily B.Kroska (2016) A meta-analysis of fear-avoidance and pain intensity: The paradox of chronic pain. Scandinavian Journal of Pain, Volume 13, Pages 43-58. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877886016300799

Congratulations to Erin Wolff on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for August 2021!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Erin Wolff:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

During my four years of graduate training thus far, I have been fortunate to be able to apply a CBS framework with a variety of clinical populations, including college counseling, addictions, and outpatient mental health counseling as well as non-clinical populations undergoing leadership coaching.

Early in my training, I developed a structured interview based on the Hexaflex model. Although I was only a first-year student, licensed clinicians referred their clients to me to identify stuck points and make treatment recommendations based on this interview. Additionally, I utilized the CFQ and AAQ-II to measure progress for my individual and group therapy clients, and the results of these analyses were presented to the executive board of the organization to exemplify the utility of ACT in a dual-diagnosis setting.

At my current internship placement, I utilize a CBS framework to provide culturally-responsive, inclusive therapy to clients suffering the consequences of severe, complex trauma, chronic health conditions, severe mood disorders, psychotic symptoms, issues pertinent to LGBTQIA+ folx, and minority stress.

Outside of clinical placements, I am wrapping up work on my dissertation, which I presented as a poster at last year’s ACBS World Conference, titled “Utilizing ACT to Treat Suicidality: Addressing the Needs of Both the Client and Clinician.” I also serve as a student representative on the executive board for the Pennsylvania chapter of ACBS.

Prior to COVID-19, I also worked with the research and development committee within the Women in ACBS SIG to identify barriers to leadership within ACBS in hopes of creating a more inclusive community.

Autobiography:

In Fall 2021, I will be beginning my fifth, and final, year of my graduate program where I am pursuing a joint-degree PsyD in Clinical Psychology and MBA in Healthcare Management at Widener University’s Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology. I am a transplant to the East Coast after growing up in the Chicagoland area and attending UW-Madison for my undergraduate degree. Prior to beginning my graduate training, I was able to explore my interests within the vast opportunities available in the mental health field through a combination of research and clinical opportunities, including psychopathy research in a forensic setting, clinical work with adolescent girls who had been involved in the sex trade, and case management and group work with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. While I have loved all of the opportunities I have had in this field, I have particular interest in working with clients struggling with suicidality. This passion has been the driver behind my volunteer work with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Crisis Textline.

I am devoted to increasing access to mental healthcare for all individuals, especially those who have been systemically marginalized. In my current work, I am passionate about providing culturally-responsive, inclusive therapy to folks across a variety of identity dimensions and experiences while maintaining a sex-positive, kink-positive, and poly-aware stance.

Outside of my clinical work, I love to attend concerts and stand-up comedy shows, explore farmer's and art markets, and check out local bookstores and coffee shops.

Future goals:

I hope to work in hospital administration, implementing ACT-based policies on an organizational level, while continuing to clinically utilize ACT with individual and group therapy clients and in the supervision of other clinicians and students.

Relevant publications:

Poster: Utilizing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Treat Suicidality: Addressing the Needs of Both the Client and the Clinician Why Do Clinical Psychology Graduate Students Choose ACT?  https://contextualscience.org/wc2020online_program_posters

Congratulations to Ethan Lester on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for March 2019!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Ethan:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I am a functional contextual clinical scientist who primarily aligns with a contextual-behavioral theoretical orientation. I place a high value on the individual’s context, with consideration of the individual’s historic and current cultural factors, interpersonal dynamics, and unique learning histories. My research has broadly focused on the exploration and application of mindfulness and acceptance-based practices using novel experimental and intervention-based designs. I have studied the effects of an 8-week Mindfulness-Based-Stress Reduction intervention for college students with ADHD, the acquisition of mindfulness via a behavior analytic matching-to-sample task, and the effects of mindfulness and acceptance-based practices for older adults’ experiences of ageism. Much of my clinical work operates from an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach, in which behavioral, relational, and humanistic-existential theories and philosophies emerge from my work. I am currently on my clinical internship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School where I both research and implement mind-body interventions for medical populations. In particular, I treat patients who are experiencing neurological illnesses and adjustment difficulties due to their medical status. At MGH/HMS, I see older adult outpatients from a philanthropic neurology clinic who are experiencing emotional distress related to recent neurological diagnoses and health anxiety. I also work in the neurocritical intensive care unit with patients and families who have experienced acute neurological injuries (e.g., strokes, tumor resections), and participate on a DBT team and group. I am in love with what I do and I always incorporate contextual behavioral sciences into my science and practice. It just fits.

Autobiography:
My differences matter to me. I grew up a Hispanic Jew as a product of my parents’ interracial-interreligious marriage. My next-door neighbors were Muslim and Hindu, and I celebrated Christmas with my grandmother and her entire Spanish-speaking neighborhood. I was fortunate that my experience of diversity was always welcomed and celebrated. My doctoral education has allowed me to further explore through clinical research the meaning of my own diversity and fellow humans’ experiences. Consciously working with diversity is ever present in my clinical work, teaching, and research. I have counseled members of marginalized groups and have actively and compassionately advocated with and for these groups. My training has brought me closer to a multitude of individuals’ experiences, including those of children and college students with ADHD, sexual minorities, older adults with neurocognitive impairments, inpatients with disabilities and traumas, and outpatients with little financial stability and social support.
With the guidance of my major professor telling me to “pursue research that matters”, my journey has led me to seek out and meaningful research experiences in contextual behavioral sciences. My hope is that my research tells a story – one of commitment to the alleviation of human suffering through empirically-supported CBS treatment techniques. I am an enthusiastic clinical scientist with a drive to pursue research that matters. In all, I am a person who feels deeply about others - I am in love with the art and science of psychology and plan to do the work that matters for years to come.

Future goals:
I plan to continue working at MGH/HMS as a postdoctoral fellow in psychology in the Integrated Brain Health Clinical and Research Program honing skills in intervention development and clinical research design and implementation for the forseeable future.

Relevant publications:
Lester, E.G., … Vranceanu, A-M. (under review). The Resilient Youth with Neurofibromatosis (RY-NF) Mind-Body Intervention: An Adolescent RCT. Neurology

Murrell, A.R., Hulsey, T.C., Ergüder, L., Lester, E.G. (under review). Supporting Parents, Teachers, School Psychologists and School Counselors Using ACT, Compassion, and Mindfulness.

Lester, E.G. & Murrell, A.R. (in review). Becoming Mindful of Measurement: An experimental-experiential study of state mindfulness measures. Mindfulness. Manuscript submitted for review.

Lester, E.G., Murrell, A.R., & Dickson, D. (2018). A Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Misconceptions of Mindfulness Meditation. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine. Accepted for publication

Al-Jabari, R., Murrell, A.M., Callahan, J.L., Cox, R.J., & Lester, E.G. (In press), Do Distress Level and Waitlists Impact Termination in a Training Clinic. Teaching and Education in Professional Psychology.

Lester, E. G., & Murrell, A. R. (2018). Mindfulness Interventions for College Students with ADHD: A Multiple Single Case Research Design. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 1-22.

Moyer, D. N., McMakin, D. Q., Page, A. R., Murrell, A. R., Lester, E. G., & Walker, H. A. (2018). The Impact of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Positive Parenting Strategies Among Parents who have Experienced Relationship Violence. Journal of Family Violence, 33, 4.

Murrell, A. R., Lester, E. G., Moyer, D. N., & Lincoln, T. (2018). Three tweets to the wind: Providing context via simulated social media to decrease stigma toward problematic drinking. The Behavior Therapist, 41, 4

Murrell, A. R., Jackson, R., Lester, E.G., Hulsey, T.C. (2016). Psychological Flexibility and Resilience in Parentally Bereaved College Students. OMEGA Journal of Death and Dying, 76, 3. doi: 10.1177/0030222817693154

Murrell, A. R., Lester, E.G., & Sandoz, E.K. (2015). Grounding Turbulent Minds: The Challenges of Mindfulness-Based Interventions for College Students with ADHD and How to Overcome Them. The Journal of College Student Psychotherapy. 

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Congratulations to Georgia Polyviou on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for October 2022!

Learn more about Georgia Polyviou:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

I first heard about ACT during my third year as an undergraduate psychology student at University of Cyprus. Since then, I realized that this approach aligns with my career goals, personal values and beliefs. To expand my knowledge and experience in ACT and CBS, I decided to join ‘ACTHealthy’ research laboratory where I had my first research experience under the supervision of Dr. Maria Karekla. In my bachelor thesis we examined values clarification, psychological flexibility, body image acceptance and action and self-compassion as possible risk factors for developing an eating disorder. Now, as a first-year master’s student at the university of Cyprus I have had the opportunity to be a research assistant in multiple projects that examine psychological flexibility and body image perception distortions among women at high-risk for developing an eating disorder. Also, as my research interests focus on eating disorders, currently I am implementing a multi-user virtual reality values augmented exposure early-intervention for women at high-risk for developing an eating disorder in order to test its effectiveness. The combination of ACT with innovative technologies not only do highlight new possible ways to understand and treat mental illnesses but also gives us the opportunity to design more efficient prevention and intervention programs.

Autobiography:

I was born and grew up in Cyprus. I received my bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Cyprus where I am currently a first-year master’s student in applied school psychology. I am a research assistant in ‘ACT Healthy’ lab under the supervision of Dr. Maria Karekla and my research interests focus on eating disorders’ prevention and intervention. ACT and RFT have always attracted my interest as I believe that they approach and explain human behavior in a humanistic, anthropocentric way that aligns with my perspective and point of view. Additionally, I consider myself lucky as mindfulness, psychological flexibility and values-based living are constructs that crossed my path early in life and they have changed the way I look towards myself, other people and my personal experiences. As a result, ‘‘I feel the responsibility’’ to share these ideas with people who suffer, who are marginalized, who believe that life is not worth living. This is one of the main reasons that I have chosen to work with children, I strongly believe that prevention, intervention programs, mindfulness, meditation and values clarification at early age can have long term effects and serve as protective factors especially in the hard times that we are living.

Even though questions like what fulfills you or which are your personal values are hard to answer, I am grateful cause I can name few things that make me feel connected with myself like solo travelling, hiking, photography and spending time with my family and friends.

Future goals:

My goal is to continue my personal development and expand my knowledge and skills in order to apply ACT-based practices that will help people achieve a value-driven meaningful life.

Congratulations to Huanzhen Xu on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for January 2021!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Huanzhen Xu:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

I became interested in contextual behavioral approaches early in graduate school, and this interest has grown into a passion through my journey in research and clinical practice. As a researcher and clinician with a uniquemulticultural background, I committed significant efforts towards the identification and reduction of acculturative stress experienced by my fellow international students - an enormous student body that has been long neglected. I designed a treatment-outcome study with Chinese international students using ACT because of the similarities between ACT components and Buddhism. The results showed that ACT significantly reduced these students' psychological distress and physical symptoms. Moreover, I found that participants’ familiarity with Buddhism made it easier for them to understand value-driven living and “Acceptance”. I also found that the self-disclosure aspect of ACT was especially effective with Chinese participants due to their “acquaintance culture”. My findings were published in the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. Additionally, I was involved in multiple research projects relevant to contextual behavioral therapies, including a R21 grant that investigated the efficacy and effectiveness of ACT in treating work-related distress among nursing aides and a pilot study in which we developed a DBT protocol for college students who experience difficulty in physical exercise.

My passion in contextual behavioral science extends to my clinical practice. I assess the form, function, and reinforcing factors of presenting problems. Based on client fit, I strive to draw ingredients from various third-wave therapies and deliver them in an integrative fashion.

Autobiography:

My hometown is Leshan, Sichuan, one of the most famous Buddhistic cities in China. Growing up by The Leshan Giant Buddha, numerous Buddhistic temples and buddha stone figures, I naturally became familiar with Buddhistic values and practices without traces of learning. Though living nearby popular attractions for Chinese tourists, I had almost never seen a person who did not look like myself. A brief summer trip to America in 2009 revealed my talent for and passion in connecting with diverse people. In 2013, I left China for Minnesota, where I completed my bachelor’s degree. I knew I wanted to be a clinical psychologist because, not only would I finally experience diversity daily, but I would also provide concrete help to people of differing backgrounds. If speaking English enabled me to communicate with diverse individuals, training in psychology allowed me to truly connect with them.

Upon graduation, I was accepted into the BGSU clinical psychology PhD program, where I began to combine my passion for diversity with psychological services and research. Through this journey, I discovered my strength in acceptance- and values-based approaches, as they align well with my culturally rooted knowledge and experience in Buddhism. Additionally, I observed that minority populations often happen to be the most underserved in America. As a Chinese international student myself, I found an urgent importance to provide a voice to minority groups. Therefore, I decided to put my strength into good use and devote my research efforts to studies relevant to ACT and acculturation.

Future goals:

I aim to continue growing my capacity in CBS research and practice, and I wish to become a generalist practitioner with multicultural competency and a specialization in CBS.

Relevant publications:

Xu, H., O’Brien, W. H., & Chen, Y. (2020). Chinese international student stress and coping: A pilot study of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 15, 135–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.12.010

O’Brien, W. H., Wang, S., Xu, H., Wang, S., Yang, Z., Yang, T., Liu, Q., Zhang, X., Tang, L., Varga, A. V., Sims, T., Lim, C. X., Jarukasemthawee, S., & Pisitsungkagarn, K. (2021) Psychological reactions to COVID-19: Survey data assessing perceived susceptibility, distress, mindfulness, and preventive health behaviors. Data In Brief, 34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2020.106687

O’Brien, W. H., Wang, S., Varga, A. V., Xu, H., Sims, T. E., Horan, K. A., & Lim, C. X. (2020). Predicting PPE use, post-traumatic stress, and physical symptoms during the early weeks of COVID-19 lockdowns in the USA. MedRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.27.20162057

Chen, Y., Peng, Y., Xu, H., & O’Brien, W. H. (2017). Age Differences in Stress and Coping: Problem-Focused Strategies Mediate the Relationship Between Age and Positive Affect. International Journal Of Aging & Human Development, 86(4), 347–363. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091415017720890

Congratulations to Huiyuan LI on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for July 2022!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Huiyuan LI:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

My PhD project is about developing and examining an ACT-based intervention program based on Chinese cultural context and conduct it among patients with advanced lung cancer to test its effectiveness in improving fatigue interference and health-related quality of life among the population.

My phase I study was a systematic review to examine the effects of ACT on health outcomes in patients with advanced cancer (Li, H., Wong, C. L., Jin, X., Chen, J., Chong, Y. Y., & Bai, Y. (2021). Effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on health-related outcomes for patients with advanced cancer: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 103876. (2020 IF = 5.837. Q1. Ranking 1/124 in Nursing)). Phase II study was a qualitative study to explore their fatigue experience and how they perceive fatigue experience under of framework of ACT model. Phase III study was a full-scale RCT to examined the fatigue-oriented ACT-based intervention in patients with advanced lung cancer (The paper of the pilot study is under review for Asia-pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing).

I enriched my ACT experience by attending workshops and world conferences. Seven presentations related to ACT research have been oral/poster presented on difference conferences. I also received the group supervision organized by ACBS China Chapter. Two world conference scholarships (The 18th Association of Contextualized Behavior Science World Conference Student Scholarship, The 19th Association of Contextualized Behavior Science 2021 Developing Nations Scholar Award, link for the report: https://contextualscience.org/china_dissemination_activities_2021 ) and one research award (Y. K. Pao Foundation Scholarship 2021-22) were obtained.

Autobiography:

I am Huiyuan LI, Melody, and I come from China. I was born in a beautiful city in northern China, Jinzhong, Shanxi Province. Growing up in a loving and warm family, my family gave me great support in my studies and life. Currently I am a year three PhD candidate in nursing, an ACT learner and practitioner. I got the Bachelor of Medicine in 2016 and Master of Nusing Science in 2019 in Central South University.

Currently, I am working with Dr. Wong Cho Lee (Jojo) on ACT interventions among cancer patients in China. My research interests are mental health among cancer patients and psychological interventions to improve their quality of life among cancer patients, especially in advanced stage. Those interest push me to learn more about ACT based on the preliminary findings on the effectiveness of ACT on patients with advanced cancer. I believe my continued efforts to grow as a true ACT interventionist will have significant value for those patients with advanced lung cancer patients in China.

Besides my school-related responsibilities, I like singing, doing physical exercise, such as running, and playing pingpang, going hiking, travelling, and trying different delicious food and hope to learn to swim and dive later on.

I am a lively and cheerful person who like to listen to other people's stories, which also gives me the ability to empathize with others, as I hope to help more people as much as I can.

Future goals:

I hope to extend the ACT to more patients with advanced cancer in China and truly improve the terminal quality of nursing care and quality of life of the population.

Relevant publications:

1. Systematic review paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.103876
2. Systematic review paper 2: https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.14798

Congratulations to James Fowler on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for January 2023!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about James Fowler:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

As a researcher, I have been involved in the evaluation of YOLO, a web-based, ACT program for university students, outcomes of which are published in the Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science (JCBS) (See Viskovish et al below). My PhD builds on this work implementing and evaluating the use of YOLO with LGBTQIA+ community members. This will be the first randomised control trial and use of a web-based ACT program with this community. As part of this work, I have published a systematic review evaluating how ACT has been used with LGBTQIA+ clients in JCBS and presented as a poster on this paper at the ACBS world-conference in 2022. I will also be leading two LGBTQIA+ focused workshops at the ANZ ACBS chapter conference this November.

I previously volunteered with the ANZ ACBS as the Communications Officer. This role had me coordinate social media calendars and partway address the gap between research and clinical practice by sharing research and facilitate initiatives such as the ANZ ACBS Book Club. My proudest achievement was the creation of the Author Spotlight Series, which provided a platform for members of ANZ ACBS to share their work throughout the ANZ ACBS network.

As a Lead Tutor within the School of Psychology at The University of Queensland I have been responsible for the teaching of ACT theory and application to students for three years. This involves facilitating lectures on ACT principles, and teaching hundreds of undergraduate students about the impact of ‘dropping the struggle’.

Autobiography:

I am a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Candidate within The University of Queensland (UQ) School of Public Health (SPH). My work involves the use of mixed-methodologies and community-based participatory research to address the needs of vulnerable communities – with a specialist focus on LGBTQI+ issues. My PhD focuses on the co-design and implementation considerations of a web-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy program for the LGBTQI+ community. I also project manage two Australian government funded, multi-site projects exploring gender-affirming hormone therapy and syphilis in pregnancy. I am also co-investigator on projects exploring the needs of the aromantic community, gratitude in university students, and the continual evaluation of a web-based ACT program for university students. I am committed to teaching and mentorship, and currently supervise medical students and psychology masters students completing research placements at UQ. I also hold positions of Lead Academic Tutor and Sessional Lecturer within UQ School of Psychology. In these roles, I have been responsible for integration of LGBTQI+ specific curricula into the teaching programs in two undergraduate courses within UQ School of Psychology (Positive Psychology and Psychotherapies & Counselling). In 2021 I launched the UQ Positive Psychology Lab Group to continue education and research into positive psychology at UQ. I also currently serve on the advisory board for Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. I have 6 peer-reviewed publications (3 as first author; h index 2, 23 citations, Google Scholar 2022), and 18 national and international conference presentations and invited talks.

Future goals:

To create a world where access to healthcare is equitable and everyone has a chance to heal, grow, and thrive.

Relevant publications:

Fowler, J.A., Viskovich, S., Buckley, L., & Dean, J.A. (2022). A call for ACTion: A systematic review of empirical evidence for the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with LGBTQI+ individuals. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221214472200059X?via%3Dihub

Viskovich, Shelley, Pakenham, Kenneth and Fowler, James A. (2021). A mixed-methods evaluation of experiential intervention exercises for values and committed action from an Acceptance and Commitment (ACT) Therapy mental health promotion program for university students. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 22, 108-118. doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2021.10.001 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212144721000983

Congratulations to Jenna Lauren Adamowicz on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for March 2023!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Jenna Lauren Adamowicz:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

I have been involved in the CBS community since 2019, when I began working with my academic advisor Emily Kroska Thomas. Regarding research, I have authored several CBS-related articles, including an investigation into psychological flexibility in the context of COVID-19, a meta-analysis examining the association between fatigue severity and avoidance in chronic disease populations, a network analysis exploring connections between ACT processes and internalizing symptoms, and a factor analysis of two psychological flexibility measures in a sample of older adults. Further, I have presented research via poster and oral presentation at the ACBS World Conferences in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Clinically, I use ACT in my work with psychotherapy clients and in two clinical research studies as a study interventionist: a) a telephone-based intervention examining the efficacy of ACT for perinatal anxiety (PI: E. Thomas); and b) a contextual behavioral virtual group intervention for rural women Veterans with chronic pain (PI: K. Hadlandsmyth). I also put together a three-hour clinical workshop to teach ACT skills to practitioners caring for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. This workshop was accepted to the International Association of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis scientific conference; however, the conference was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerning volunteering, in 2019 I co-lead a conference presentation on acceptance and intentionality to patients with a rare kidney disease (C3g/DDD) and their family members. Finally, in the Spring 2023 I will be leading a “Lunch and Learn” hour about ACT for the National Alliance of Mental Illness Northeast Iowa Chapter.

Autobiography:

I am a fifth-year student in the clinical science program at the University of Iowa. I am a first-generation college student, and I received my B.A. in Psychology at St. Joseph’s College and my M.A. in Psychology at Stony Brook University. Prior to graduate school, I worked at Stony Brook Medicine under the mentorship of Fred Friedberg. I was introduced to ACT and contextual behavioral science as a second-year doctoral student by my current academic advisor, Emily Kroska Thomas. It was then I developed an interest in investigating the efficacy of ACT and CBS-based interventions for fatigue severity in populations such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and other chronic diseases where elevated fatigue severity is prevalent (e.g., multiple sclerosis, cancer, etc.). I have had the opportunity to present my CBS research at the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Association of Contextual Behavioral Science World Conferences. I have also published my CBS research in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Clinical Gerontologist, and Journal of Affective Disorders. It is my hope that during my clinical internship next year (2023-2024), I will be able to continue my CBS research and clinical efforts, with the long-term goal of working in a professional setting where I can integrate CBS research, clinical practice, and interdisciplinary training and supervision. When I am not working, I enjoy sending time with my fiancé Luke, cooking vegetarian meals, and playing board games. I am also the proud aunt to two nieces and a nephew.

Future goals:

I hope to pursue a career that integrates ACT and CBS research, clinical practice, and interdisciplinary training and supervision.

Relevant publications:

Below is a list of relevant CBS publications (+ denotes co first-authorship)

Roche, A. I., Adamowicz, J. L., Stegall, M., Toovey, C., Sirotiak, Z., & Thomas, E. B. K. College student resilience during COVID-19: Examining the roles of mindfulness, compassion, and prosocial behavior. (in press). Adversity and Resilience Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-022-00083-9

+Eadeh, H., +Adamowicz, J. L., Markon, K., & Thomas, E. B. K. Using network analysis to explore connections between Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) therapeutic processes and internalizing symptom and well-being domains in a sample of undergraduates. (in press). Journal of Affective Disorders. 320:1; 701-709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.10.004

Adamowicz, J. L., Thomas, E. B. K., Hsu, T., Denburg, N. L., Roche, A. I. A preliminary investigation into the factor structure of two psychological flexibility measures in a sample of community-dwelling older adults. (in press). Clinical Gerontologist. http://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2022.2131496

Adamowicz, J. L., Vélez-Bermúdez, M., & Thomas, E. B. K. Fatigue severity and avoidance among individuals with chronic disease: A meta-analysis. (2022). Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 159, 110951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2022.110951

Kroska E. B., Roche, A. I., Adamowicz, J. L., Stegall, M. Psychological flexibility in the context of COVID-19 adversity: Associations with distress. (2020). Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. 18, 28-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.07.011
Media coverage: Forbes, Science Daily, Iowa Now, cited in New York Times

Congratulations to Jessica Stark on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for May 2018!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Jessica:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I have done various types of work in CBS including clinical work, research, and volunteering, and have also received ongoing training. Clinically, I currently use CBS to inform my internship work at HealthPoint doing primary care behavioral health. The primary population with whom I work in this setting is low-income, including people who are uninsured or underinsured, unemployed, homeless, addicted to drugs, those who have significant medical and mental illness, and new refugees including using interpreters regularly. For research, I worked on Dr. Jonathan Bricker’s team at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for two years on a study comparing ACT for smoking cessation with typical CBT quit line treatment; in contributing to this research, I provided interventions to primarily low-income, uninsured populations. I also volunteered for two years at South King County Clinic in Seattle providing mental health services, including short interventions such as FACT, to community members who needed free medical, dental, and vision care. Additionally, I have been a student member of ACBS since 2014, was a member of the SIG Review Committee last year, and was the Graduate Student Representative of Washington State Psychological Association for 1.5 years. Lastly, I have attended various CBS-focused conferences including a two-day seminar hosted by the Washington ACBS Chapter with speakers such as Drs. Patty Robinson, Kirk Strosahl, Robert Kohlenberg, and Mavis Tsai, and I have attended multiple online webinars hosted by ACBS’s Dr. D.J. Moran and others.

Autobiography:
I am in my final year towards getting my PsyD at Antioch University Seattle, which has a social justice mission. I have a clinical, empirically-based practice focus to my work, and have a passion working with low-income and underserved populations. I have worked in various clinical settings including in primary care and pediatric clinics, in community mental health, at a school for developmentally differently-abled kids, and an adult psychiatric in-patient facility. I love working with the LGBT community, pregnant and new moms, and individuals on medication assisted treatment for opioid dependence among others, and love being a generalist through the primary care behavioral health (PCBH) model. My dissertation was on video game psychology and what it means for individuals to play the game, The Sims, and find it important to embrace how video games and online communities can contribute to positive identity development. I connected with the Washington State Psychological Association community early in my graduate schooling, connecting to the ACBS community through Dr. Chris McCurry. Since then I have fully embraced using ACT as my main modality for clinical work and conceptualizations, as honed through my training and work with Dr. Jonathan Bricker’s team at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center using ACT for smoking cessation. I have also been fortunate enough to learn about FACT, and its applications in PCBH directly from its creators, Drs. Patty Robinson and Kirk Strosahl. As I plan to graduate in summer 2018, I look forward to seeing what the future holds for me!

Future goals:
I hope to continue to provide CBS-based clinical care to underserved populations through primary care behavioral health.

Congratulations to Joanna Kaye on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for February 2018!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Joanna:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
My interest in ACT has strongly influenced my research, clinical work, teaching, and volunteering positions. In the realm of research, I became interested in ACT research as the graduate student research coordinator of an RCT in my lab comparing ACT and traditional CBT for social anxiety disorder. For my Master’s thesis, I developed online values clarification and goal-setting programs to determine the extent to which values clarification adds incremental benefit to goal-setting strategies in helping undergraduate freshmen adjust to college. For my doctoral dissertation, I paired my interest in ACT with my interest in exposure therapy. My study aims to reduce the impact of therapists’ discomfort on their clinical decision-making during exposure therapy by incorporating ACT techniques into their training. My hope with this project is that therapists will use ACT techniques to practice willingness to experience discomfort during exposure therapy in the service of their values related to their clinical work, and that ACT strategies will help therapists make more effective clinical decisions.

In my clinical work, I have used ACT with dozens of clients with a range of symptom presentations. I am currently an advanced peer supervisor in our graduate training clinic, where I help supervise graduate students in their delivery of ACT in our mood and anxiety clinic.

Additionally, I am teaching a Master’s-level CBT course that has included a focus on ACT. Finally, I am the Student Representative on the Pennsylvania ACBS Board, where I help to organize ACT-focused training events.

Autobiography:
I grew up in Virginia Beach, VA, and received my BA in Psychology and Spanish from Emory University in Atlanta, GA. I am currently a fourth-year graduate student at Drexel University working with James Herbert and Evan Forman. My clinical and research interests center on acceptance-based treatments and exposure therapy for anxiety disorders. I am drawn to the ACT emphasis on values in all of my clinical work, regardless of whether I am utilizing a full ACT framework. I am interested in the utility of an ACT framework to increase patients’ willingness to engage in difficult behavior change and sustain that behavior change after ending treatment, particularly in the context of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders.

My interest in ACT has also been influenced by my father. He is an anesthesiologist by profession, but has had a passion for mindfulness meditation for many years. I attended meditation meet-up groups with him in high school and college. My interest in ACT was a natural evolution from my experiences with mindfulness meditation in my adolescence. My father is now beginning a second career of sorts by training to become a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher, and we often joke about opening a center for mindfulness- and acceptance-based treatments after I finish my training. In my spare time, I love traveling, going to dog parks, trying new restaurants, doing yoga, going on long walks in cute neighborhoods, and hosting dinner parties with friends.

Future goals:
I aim to research how acceptance-based techniques can be used to improve therapists' decision-making.

Congratulations to Joshua Schultz on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for June 2019!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Joshua:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I have been studying and practicing Acceptance and Commitment therapy for the past three years in my graduate program, and have been integrating the theory into both my research and clinical placements. I am currently working on my dissertation, which proposes a model for executive coaching using ACT to help leaders cultivate self-compassion, and increase compassion in the workplace culture. I am working with a client, a department head at my university, implementing the ACT coaching model that I am developing. I also use ACT techniques in my current internship placement as a therapist at an inpatient residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, where I conduct both individual and group therapy. Through helping my clients identify their values and develop mindfulness skills, I help them take action to accept their demons and act in valued ways. Through developing coping skills and bringing mindful awareness to the choice point, I help my clients get ready for the next phase of their treatment and lives. ACT is an invaluable tool, because it helps me help my clients to stop struggling against themselves.

Autobiography:
I am 25 years old, from Holland, Pennsylvania, and currently live in Philadelphia. I have been studying psychology for the past 8 years, the last 4 in my graduate program. When I am not studying, I am usually spending time with friends and family, and I like to create both art and music. I write poetry and short stories, I paint, and I play the drums in a band which plays shows around the greater Philadelphia area. I am also developing a spiritual practice, grounded in the mindfulness teachings of John Kabat-Zinn and others, as well as my upbringing as a Jewish person. I am growing each day as both a clinician and a human being, and I am excited for the next steps in my life and career.

Future goals:
I hope to work as both an executive coach and therapist, using ACT to help my clients become more compassionate with themselves and others.

Congratulations to Julie Petersen on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for March 2022!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Julie Petersen:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

I was first introduced to ACT in graduate school under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Twohig. Once I learned about ACT, I knew I was meant to be an ACT therapist. As I progressed through graduate school, I subsequently focused my research on the adaptation, implementation, and dissemination of ACT for youth across a variety of contexts. For example, my master’s thesis was the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) of DNA-V for adolescents with anxiety; I worked directly with local high schools to implement DNA-V groups into the school day to provide students with extra mental health support. Currently I am working on my dissertation, a RCT of telehealth ACT for adolescents with transdiagnostic health-related anxiety. I also contributed to the creation and testing of ACT Guide for Adolescents, an online, self-help intervention for youth.

Clinically, I am passionate about using acceptance-based approaches like ACT to empower youth to explore and pursue what they find most meaningful. I have worked in an ACT community clinic for the last two years, primarily working with young people. I have also specifically spent the last several months working with undergraduate athletes, collaboratively using ACT to empower them to discover their best selves within and outside of athletic achievement. I am inspired daily by the strength of the young people I work with and strive to use humor and engaging activities to make treatment meaningful and fun, whether it be in a traditional clinic, telehealth, schools, or self-help.

Autobiography:

I grew up in New Jersey, USA, and have a special place in my heart for the Garden State. I completed my undergraduate degree in psychology at Haverford College, where I had my first experiences in psychology research. Before coming to USU for graduate school in clinical psychology, I had the opportunity to gain first-hand experience with treatment research through my role as a research assistant for Dr. Edna Foa at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety. Presently, I am a fourth-year doctoral student in the combined clinical/counseling psychology program at Utah State University (USU). I work primarily with Drs. Michael Twohig and Michael Levin. Through USU and my mentors, I fell in love with ACT and have been passionate about acceptance-based therapies ever since. My research at USU is primarily centralized around ACT and obsessive-compulsive-related concerns and anxiety, particularly for children and adolescents. I love working with young people and feel deeply connected to the suffering, power, and imagination of adolescence. I learn from the youth I work with every day and am especially grateful for their willingness and strength. Beyond psychology, I love nail art, reading, music, and reality TV. Everyone in my life knows way more about ACT than they probably ever thought they would—I am grateful for all the love and support I have received from my family, friends, and mentors.

Future goals:

I hope to further research and disseminate ACT for young people in most need of the tools to live life in service of what is most meaningful to them.

Relevant publications:

Petersen, J.M., Hayes, L., Gillard, D., & Ciarrochi, J. (In press). ACT for children and adolescents. In Twohig, M.P., Levin, M.E., & Petersen, J.M. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Oxford University Press.

Twohig, M.P., Levin, M.E., & Petersen, J.M., (In press). The Oxford Handbook of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Oxford University Press.

Twohig, M. P., Petersen, J. M., Fruge, J., Ong, C. W., Barney, J. L., Krafft, J., Lee, E. B., & Levin, M. E. (in press). A pilot randomized controlled trial of online-delivered ACT-enhanced behavior therapy for trichotillomania in adolescents. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice.

Petersen, J.M. & Twohig, M.P. (in press). Sexual orientation intrusive thoughts and well-being: The mediating role of psychological inflexibility. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

Krafft, J., Ong, C.W., Davis, C.H., Petersen, J.M., Levin, M.E., & Twohig, M.P. (in press). An open trial of group acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) with an adjunctive mobile app for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Cognitive and Behavioral Practice.

Ong, C.W., Lee., E.B., Petersen, J.M., Levin, M. E., & Twohig, M.P. (in press). Is perfectionism always unhealthy? Examining the moderating effects of psychological flexibility and self-compassion. Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Petersen, J.M., Durward, C., Levin, M. (2021). Psychological inflexibility as a mediator between weight self-stigma and health-related outcomes. Bulletin of Menninger Clinic, 85(3), 316-330

Ong, C.W., Krafft, J., Panoussi, F., Petersen, J. M., Levin, M. E., & Twohig, M.P. (in press). In-person and online-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy for hoarding disorder: A multiple baseline study. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science.

Zemestani, M., Salavati, M., Seyedolshohadaii, A., Petersen, J., Twohig, M., & Ghaderi, E. (2020). An Iranian randomized controlled trial of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) versus exposure and response prevention (ERP) for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder on an optimal dose of SSRIs. Behavior Modification, 0145445520982977.

Petersen, J.M., Ong, C.W., Hancock, A., Gillam, R., Levin, M.E., & Twohig, M.P. (2020). An examination of the relationship between perfectionism and neurological functioning. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 1.

Ong, C. W., Pierce, B. G., Petersen, J. M., Barney, J. L., Fruge, J. E., Levin, M. E., & Twohig, M. P. (2020). A psychometric comparison of psychological inflexibility measures: Discriminant validity and item performance. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 18, 34-47.

Davazdahemami, M. H., Bayrami, A., Petersen, J. M., Twohig, M. P., Bakhtiyari, M., Noori, M., Kheradmand, A. (2019). Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for death anxiety in Iranian clients diagnosed with OCD. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 1.

Petersen, J. M., Krafft, J., Twohig, M. P., Levin, M. E. (2019). Evaluating the open and engaged components of acceptance and commitment therapy in an online self-guided website: Results from a pilot trial. Behavior Modification. 0145445519878668.

Twohig, M.P., Levin, M.E., & Petersen, J.M., (In press). Introduction to Oxford University Press Handbook of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. In Twohig, M.P., Levin, M.E., & Petersen, J.M. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Oxford University Press.

Krafft, J., Petersen, J.M., & Twohig, M.P. (In press). Acceptance and commitment therapy for obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. In In D. McKay, J. Abramowitz, & E. Storch (Eds.). Complexities in Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders. New York: Oxford Press.

Twohig, M. P., Ong, C. W., Petersen, J. M., Barney, J. L., & Fruge, J. E. (2020). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Exposure Exercises. In M. E. Levin, M. P. Twohig, & J. E. Krafft (Eds.). Innovations in ACT. New Harbinger: Oakland, CA.

Congratulations to Kevin Davies on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for April 2018!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Kevin:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I am currently in my second year of the master's program of counseling psychology at UW-Madison, and I was first alerted to ACT as a possible theoretical orientation for my clinical work this past summer. Since then, I have been eating up the literature on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and have been using ACT with my clients. Since there are very few colleagues in my program that use ACT, I have essentially trained myself in the approach, using books, podcasts, ACBS resources, and discussions with peers. I have also begun to teach my cohort about ACT and have given presentations on ACT-based interventions and case conceptualizations. I have found Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to be extremely useful in my approach with clients, and in my own personal growth.

Autobiography:
I am a second-year master's student in the Department of Counseling Psychology at the University of Madison-Wisconsin. Currently, I am working directly with individual clients and couples, and I have been working with Dr. Carmen Valdez on research surrounding family-based interventions for Latinx families. My main interests are improving access to mental health services at the community level, along with improving quality of care for typically undeserved populations. Those interests have led me on an exciting career, which has included serving adults with developmental disabilities, providing suicide-prevention crisis aid, and volunteering as a family counselor.

I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, but have lived in Wisconsin for about 4.5 years now. When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, playing guitar, playing board games, and watching clouds. Moving forward, I have just finished my applications to doctoral programs in clinical and counseling psychology, and I’m interested in working with elderly individuals.

Future goals:
I'm looking forward to further developing my skills and knowledge surrounding CBS, and I aim to engage with the ACBS community!

Congratulations to Korena Klimczak on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for January 2024!  

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Korena Klimczak

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

I became involved with the CBS community in 2019, when I first began graduate school at Utah State University under Dr. Michael Levin’s mentorship. I have since pursued lines of research investigating ACT-based digital mental health interventions, and issues related to adherence, engagement, and implementation. This research includes the development of a novel ACT-based peer coaching intervention to improve adherence to the 10-week online ACT self-help program called ACT Guide. I tested this peer-coaching intervention through an RCT and subsequently implemented it as an available service for Utah State University student users of ACT Guide. I have additionally conducted a meta-analysis on online ACT interventions and have taken lead roles in developing online self-guided ACT-based interventions that are or will be available for public use outside of research contexts. This includes a single-session ACT program that takes 45 minutes to complete called ACT Guide Lite, and an online 6-session ACT program tailored to autistic adults.

I have also provided service to the CBS community through my role as a SIG-leader for the ACTing with Technology SIG over the past two years. In this role, I revamped the SIG website (https://actingwithtech.wordpress.com/) to make it more openly accessible as a resource for researchers and therapists seeking information about technology-supported ACT and CBS work, and have organized online talks, panels, and networking events to facilitate community growth within the SIG. I have also given workshops on ACT, training therapists on ACT more generally as well as on digital tools for enhancing clinical practice.

Autobiography:

I grew up in south Florida and completed my BA in Psychology in Virginia at Old Dominion University in 2019. I have enjoyed my time in Utah over the past five years as a student in the Combined Clinical and Counseling Psychology PhD program at USU with Dr. Michael Levin as my mentor. I have always had a fascination with technology and the internet’s role in culture, society, and the human condition. I ultimately wanted to pursue a career where I can help shape and manifest technologies that support people in living meaningful lives and pursued this through studying psychology. I want to capitalize on technology’s potential to increase the accessibility of mental health resources for all, and to offer new novel tools for helping people live better lives that would not otherwise be possible. This led me to my research interest in clinical applications of technology, with a specific focus on ACT. I care deeply about making the products of research relevant and useful to real-world contexts, and thus prioritize work that translates evidence-based findings to real-life services. I also enjoy implementing advanced statistical methods and rigorous methodology, as these tools can help shed light on making sense of data in interesting ways and make clinical psychology a better science. Outside of work, I love playing games, picking up new hobbies, and doing deep dives into interesting topics, some of these over the past few years including roller skating, mechanical keyboards, speculative evolution, and the history of tattooing!

Future goals:

I hope to use my skills as a clinical psychologist to help implement and improve real-life digital interventions available to the public.

Publications:

Davis, C. H., Klimczak, K.S., Aller, T. B., Twohig, M. P., & Levin, M.E. (In press). Reach, adoption, and maintenance of online acceptance and commitment therapy at a university: An implementation case study. Psychological Services.\

Klimczak, K.S., & Levin, M.E. (2023). Acceptance and commitment therapy. In: Friedman, H.S., Markey, C.H. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Mental Health (Third Edition), vol. 1. Elsevier, Academic Press, pp. 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91497-0.00121-1.

Klimczak, K. S., Schwartz, S. E., Donahue, M. L., Capel, L. K., Snow, J. L.*, & Levin, M. E. (2023). Disentangling trait and state psychological inflexibility: A longitudinal multilevel approach. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 29, 13-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2023.05.006

Klimczak, K. S., San Miguel, G. S., Mukasa, N. M., Twohig, M. P., & Levin, M. E. (2023). A systematic review and meta-analysis of online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a transdiagnostic self-help intervention. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 52(3), 269-294. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2023.2178498

Klimczak, K. S., Twohig, M. P., Peacock, G. G., & Levin, M. E. (2023). Using peer-support coaching to improve adherence to online ACT self-help for college mental health: A randomized controlled trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 160, 104228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2022.104228

Krafft, J., Klimczak, K. S., & Levin, M. E. (2022). Effects of cognitive restructuring and defusion for coping with difficult thoughts in a predominantly white female college student sample. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 46, 86-94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-021-10242-4

Congratulations to LAM Ching Yee on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for August 2023!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Ching Yee:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

My PhD study is about developing and examining feasibility of an ACT-based intervention program for promoting psychological wellbeing in adolescent nursing students. Personally, I experienced great challenge during role transition from nurse learner to staff nurse. Now, as a nurse educator, I hope my students would experience an easier role transition by using ACT.

Thanks to Dr Asher's family, the Behavior Therapy Associates, and the ACBS Award Committee, I recently received the Michael J. Asher Student Dissertation Award (First Prize). With the monetary award from this award, I plan to study further on promoting children and adolescents’ psychological wellbeing as well as promoting their psychological flexibility. More, I made ACT-related research presentations via poster and oral presentations at the ACBS World Conferences and other conferences. Currently, I am in the final stage of my PhD study and am preparing manuscripts based on my study findings.

Regarding volunteering efforts, I have been involved in the CBS community since 2020 when I was selected as the Student Representative of ABCS Board. After that, I continue serve the ACBS community as a Co-Chair of Student SIG till now and I join the Research Support, JEDI Team this year. Also, I am a member of Asian SIG and Hong Kong Chapter. About introducing ACT to Chinese community, I served as one of the trainers and developers in a ACT program which focused on parenting, and conducted the “Lunch and Learn - Mental Break” for employees of an international bank in Hong Kong.

Autobiography:

I am a PhD student studying at the School of Nursing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. I obtained my Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Master of Nursing (MNurs) at The University of Hong Kong, and Bachelor of Nursing (BNurs) at the La Trobe University.
My research interests are promoting psychological wellbeing in adolescents and people who might be at risk of suffering. To start with, I focus on applying ACT to promote psychological wellbeing in adolescent nursing students. Thanks to my supervisor, Dr Yim-wah Mak, she brings me to the world of CBS. Where, I find ACT very beneficial, both to myself and others, as it promotes psychological flexibility and sheds light on valued-driven behavior, and it helps people to live with dilemma of human suffering. Other thanks go to my co-supervisor, Dr Sau-fong Leung, she shows me insights from perspectives of mental nursing. This is new experience which I have not learnt during my previous studies in general nursing. Many thanks go to my family, friends and students as they provide me a lot of opportunities in understanding suffering and applying ACT in daily life.

I am passionate in identifying culturally competent approach to facilitate people of different backgrounds to live with their struggles. My next step is to further promote the use of ACT in Hong Kong/Chinese community.
More, I am also a trainer in healthcare simulation and debriefing. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, and traveling.

Future goals:

My goal is to identify and develop culturally appropriate ACT-based practices for people who are suffering. Thus, I hope to facilitate people to abandon suffering and obtain happiness, and to achieve a valued-driven life.

Relevant publications:

Zhang; X, Ma, H., Lam, C.Y., Ho, G.W.K and Mak, Y.M. Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on self-care, psychological symptoms, and quality of life in patients with cardiovascular disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. (submitted).

Lam, C.Y., Mak, Y.W. and Leung, S.F. The acceptance and commitment therapy for promoting psychological wellbeing in new graduate nurses: a study protocol. (in preparation).

Lam, C.Y., Mak, Y.W. and Leung, S.F. The feasibility and acceptability of ACT-based role transition program for new graduated nurse. (in preparation).

Wong, S. L., Baljit-Kaur, G., Chan, J. H. M., Cheung, A. P. H., Charm, C. Y. C., Fung, K. M., Lam, C. Y., Tong, M. Y. T., Lo, C. K. Y., Tsang, A. Y. K., & Nestel, D. (2021). School-based research agenda on healthcare simulation for nursing education in Hong Kong. BMJ Simulation & Technology Enhanced Learning, 7 (5).

Lam, C.Y., Lo, C.K.Y., and Charm, C.Y.C. (2019). Substitution of traditional clinical experience with simulated clinical experience in pre-licensure nursing programme: a scoping review. In Technological Innovation in Nursing Education and Practice. Hong Kong: OUHK.

Charm, C.Y.C., Lo, C.K.Y., and Lam, C.Y. (2019). Standardized patients in nursing education: challenges ahead. In Technological Innovation in Nursing Education and Practice. Hong Kong: OUHK.

Lo, C.K.Y., Charm, C.Y.C., Lee, C.N.Y., and Lam, C.Y. (2019). Performance in high-fidelity simulation training on respiratory failure management: an evaluation study. In Technological Innovation in Nursing Education and Practice. Hong Kong: OUHK.

Congratulations to Lauren B. Johnson on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for March 2019!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Lauren:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
While completing my first clinical practicum, I had the opportunity to receive significant training and supervision in ACT while implementing the intervention with several patients. Following that experience, my interest in CBS continued to grow, which prompted my application to serve as a student representative for the Pennsylvania Board of ACBS. Being a student representative has allowed me to engage with other like-minded individuals interested in enhancing their practice of CBS interventions while also contributing to the goals of increasing student engagement in ACBS, planning training events, and creating a strong CBS community within the greater Philadelphia and surrounding areas. Recently, our chapter initiated an ACT consultation group based on the Portland Model, which has been yet another excellent chance to continue growing as an ACT practitioner through peer-to-peer consultation, skill-building, and other valuable activities. At my current practicum placement, there is a significant focus on utilizing ACT and I have been able to advance my skill-set greatly through the diverse training opportunities available. Outside of individual therapy, I receive supervision from an ACT perspective and will begin co-leading an ACT group in the upcoming month. Additionally, I serve as a therapist for two clinical research studies centered on using ACT for individuals with chronic medical conditions. The first focuses on using ACT to reduce shame, stigma, and depression among individuals living with HIV. The second, ACT with Cystic Fibrosis, focuses on reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms in individuals with CF and uses a telehealth adaptation to enhance accessibility.

My engagement in the CBS community has grown immensely through my position as a student representative for the Pennsylvania Chapter of ACBS, use of ACT in clinical practice with diverse populations, participation in ACT consultation/supervision, and role as a therapist for research studies examining the impact of ACT for individuals with HIV and Cystic Fibrosis. These activities have continued to remind me of the applicability of CBS interventions to a vast number of psychological and health-related conditions as well as enhanced my ability to effectively apply ACT to address the diverse challenges that my patients face. I plan to continue advancing my knowledge in CBS through ongoing engagement in my current activities, starting to co-lead an ACT group, and seeking to present CBS-related research at the 2019 ACBS conference.

Autobiography:
I was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA. I received my BA from Vanderbilt University where I triple-majored in Psychology, Sociology, and Philosophy. Subsequently, I completed a Master of Education in Human Development and Psychology at Harvard University. Currently, I am a third-year clinical psychology PhD student at Drexel University working with Dr. Arthur Nezu and Dr. Christine Maguth Nezu. My clinical and research interests center around trauma and suicide, with a particular focus on military and veteran populations. Given my significant interest in military mental health, I decided to pursue military service and recently commissioned into the Air Force. Upon completion of my doctoral studies, I will begin my active duty service as an Air Force clinical psychologist. Over the past couple years, my research, clinical, and volunteer experiences focused on ACT have been immensely beneficial in adding a powerful intervention to my clinical toolbox. I believe my continued efforts to grow as an ACT practitioner will have significant value as I currently treat and will continue to treat military personnel. Stepping outside of my school-related responsibilities, I engage in numerous activities in support of a values-driven life. I enjoy reading (especially books that are adapted into films), doing yoga, travelling, eating seafood, and hanging out with my adorable Burmese cat, Tilly.

Future goals:
I have a clinical interest in utilizing ACT to address the mental health needs of military personnel and a burgeoning research interest in examining ACT principles and strategies to enhance the treatment of moral injury and/or PTSD within military and veteran populations.

Congratulations to Lynn Farrell on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for December 2018!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Lynn:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I first came across CBS research through an introduction to Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) during my undergraduate degree in Maynooth University. This inspired me to research implicit relational responding, specifically how we implicitly relate gender to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. Following this research path led me to University College Dublin (UCD) where I became a member of the CBS lab there, led by Dr. Louise McHugh. Here, I have had the opportunity to collaborate on a number of other research projects including examinations of cyberbullying, citation analysis and publication trends. I received a postgraduate scholarship from the Irish Research Council to continue pursuing my research into the nature and malleability of gender-STEM bias using the IRAP. To date I have published two papers on this topic in the JCBS and have disseminated this work both nationally and internationally. Along with a diverse team of inspiring fellow RFT researchers, I’ve been involved in the development and delivery of a workshop aimed at helping others to conduct RFT research and form research collaborations. This workshop was most recently delivered at the ACBS World Conference in Seville (2017). I am also currently one of the student representatives on the board for the Women in ACBS SIG, a position that has broadened my knowledge of how a CBS-based approach can contribute to social change.

Autobiography:
I’m from Dublin, Ireland and was the first in my family to graduate from university when I achieved my BA in Psychology from Maynooth University. My introduction to RFT changed how I approached research and topics of interest to me in ways I had never imagined. While working in UCD I was fortunate enough to be invited to join the CBS lab there. In my time as a member of this wonderful lab I have been introduced to some of the incredible people behind CBS research and its many diverse strands, including an introduction to ACT. Though I may never be the first to volunteer for ACT role-play exercises (“experiential avoidance!” I hear you cry), I do try to incorporate ACT consistent techniques into my life and live in accordance with my values. I’ve made some wonderful friends and have had the support of incredible mentors within the CBS community. My recent involvement in the Women in ACBS SIG has only strengthened this sense of community. I hope to continue to develop as a researcher and contribute to research that is both meaningful and useful, particularly in the vast area of equality. I am currently trying to develop interventions that strengthen positive relations between women and STEM to counter stereotypes within this domain. I have much still to learn but am grateful for the opportunity to do so with curiosity and compassion within the ACBS community.

Future goals:
I hope to continue to research and promote issues relevant to equality and diversity and to continue to develop as a researcher within the ACBS community.

Relevant publications:
Farrell, L. & McHugh, L. (2017). Examining gender-STEM bias among STEM and non-STEM students using the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP). Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2017.02.001 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212144717300042

Farrell, L., Cochrane, A., & McHugh, L. (2015). Exploring attitudes towards gender and science: The advantages of an IRAP approach versus the IAT. Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science, 4(2), 121-128. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2015.04.002 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212144715000204

O’Connor, M., Farrell, L., Munnelly, A., & McHugh, L. (2017). Citation analysis of relational frame theory: 2009–2016. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 6(2), 152-158. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212144717300339

Munnelly, A., Farrell, L., O’Connor, M., & McHugh, L. (2017). Adolescents’ Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Toward Cyberbullying: an Exploratory Study Using the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) and Self-Report Measures. The Psychological Record, 1-10. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40732-017-0261-0

Congratulations to Marianna Zacharia on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for March 2024!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Marianna Zacharia

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

I am a member of the ACThealthy: Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Medicine laboratory, supervised by Dr Maria Karekla since 2016. Thanks to my supervisor, I have been involved with various projects at ACThealthy laboratory, particularly in the ALGEA project for chronic pain and a smoking cessation project. I also provided individual interventions for a project on internal cues and drug dependency based on ACT. I have participated in the ACBS conferences since 2018 by presenting posters, panels, and symposia and several of these papers have been published. Thanks to the Association of Contextual Behavioral Science, I have been awarded the 2020 - 2021 ACBS Research Development Grant, which enabled me to conduct my PhD research project, an Intervention for female breast CANcer: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (I-CAN-ACT) for depression and physical pain. I am currently in the process of data analysis and write-up of my thesis.

Through my clinical placements, I have been trained in the use of ACT and other behavioral therapies (DBT) and use the CBS principles when providing psychological support to people with cancer and their families as well as individuals with disabilities, which are the populations I mostly work with.

Regarding volunteering, I was selected as the Student Representative of the ABCS Board in 2021-2022. Also, I served as the student representative of the Greece and Cyprus chapter and now as a member of the chapter. Additionally, I was a member of the organizing committee for the ACBS conference in July 2023 in Nicosia.

Autobiography:

I am a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Cyprus and a Registered Clinical Psychologist working in palliative care at the Cyprus Association of Cancer Patients and Friends providing psychological support to people with cancer and their families. I obtained a First-Class Honours BSc Degree in Psychology from the University of Southampton in 2012. Subsequently, I completed a three-year MSc degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus, with a GPA of 4/4. My MSc thesis was on risk and resilience factors for post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in Cypriot police officers. I worked as a trainee clinical psychologist at the Centre for Therapy, Training and Research of the University of Nicosia (K.E.S.Y), at PASYKAF, the Hostel and Day Center “St. Catherine”, at Somateio Skapaneas (for people with disabilities), at the Adult Day Care Centre for Disabled from Communities District Morphou (for people with disabilities) and at the Psychiatric Hospital of Athalassa in Cyprus. I also provided individual psychotherapy to adults and parental counseling at the Counselling Center of the Municipality of Aglantzia, the Breast Center of Cyprus, as well as psychometric assessments to students at the Mental Health Center of the University of Cyprus.

As a researcher, I am particularly interested in the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions in women with breast cancer. Thus, my thesis focused on the development of a brief Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-based intervention for improving the quality of life of women with breast cancer who experience depressive symptoms or sadness and physical pain.

Future goals:

I hope that my thesis, the I-CAN-ACT project, will improve the psychological treatment currently offered for women with breast cancer by targeting the processes that are more related with improved treatment effects and that it will help in developing prevention programs to facilitate better physical pain management and diminish the likelihood of developing psychopathology in this cancer population. My goal is to contribute at least to some extent in alleviating people’s suffering and aiding them in achieving a valued-driven meaningful life.

Publications:

▪ Zacharia, M., & Karekla, M. (2022). The Role of Psychologists and Psychological Approaches in Cancer Care. In A. Kassianos (Ed.), Handbook of Quality of Life in Cancer (pp. 311-337). Springer Nature Switzerland AG, Cham.
▪ Zacharia, M., & Karekla, M. (2021). The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Perspective: Case Conceptualization and Treatment of Depression in Cancer. In C. Charis & G. Panayiotou (Eds.), Depression conceptualization and treatment (pp. 123-147). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature Switzerland AG. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68932-2_9
▪ Zacharia, M., Ioannou, M., Theofanous, A., Vasiliou, V. S., & Karekla, M. (2021). Does Cognitive Fusion show up similarly across two behavioral health samples? Psychometric properties and invariance of the Greek–Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (G-CFQ). Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 21, 212-221.
▪ Gloster, A. T., Zacharia, M., & Karekla, M. (2020). Psychological aid for frontline healthcare workers. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 17(4), 253-254.
▪ Theofanous, A., Ioannou, M., Zacharia, M., Georgiou, S. N., & Karekla, M. (2020). Gender, Age, and Time Invariance of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM) and Psychometric Properties in Three Greek-Speaking Youth Samples. Mindfulness, 1- 10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01350-5
▪ Karekla, M., Zacharia, M., & Koushiou, M. (2018). Accept Pain for a Vital Life: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the Treatment of Chronic Pain. In C. Charis & G. Panayiotou (Eds.), Somatoform and Other Psychosomatic Disorders (pp. 163-191). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Congratulations to Niloofar Tavakoli on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for July 2021!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Niloofar Tavakoli:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

I have engaged in CBS related research and clinical work by providing ACT-based interventions in a VA setting, academic-medical institution, and research-based interventions. I am currently completing my practicum training at the Houston VA working in the General Mental Health Clinic and Pain Evaluation Center providing ACT-based interventions to Veterans who experience behavioral health concerns. As a research interventionist, I am providing an ACT-based smoking cessation intervention for Latinx individuals who also experience depression and/or anxiety. In this regard, I also assisted with the development of the participant as well as the counselor manuals. Previously, I have worked at an academic-medical setting providing ACT for substance use disorders for ethnic minority individuals. In this setting, I also provided group-based ACT intervention for individuals at risk for HIV. Scholastically, I have led or co-authored two manuscripts and four presentations relevant to CBS. Topics included psychological inflexibility in regard to anxiety-related experiences and psychometric work on the utility of the AAQ-II in an ethnically diverse sample.

Autobiography:

I am a second-year doctoral student in the Health Psychology track of the Counseling Psychology program at the University of Houston (UH). Born in Iran and raised in Houston, I completed both my B.S. in Psychology and M.Ed. in Counseling at UH. I currently hold a license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Texas. My research interests include anxiety, smoking/substance abuse, and psychological flexibility/inflexibility among ethnic minority individuals; with a special interest in creating culturally tailored psychological and health-related interventions. I am currently a graduate scholar in a partnership between UH and M.D Anderson Cancer Center to reduce cancer-related disparities among ethnic minorities, in which I am a research assistant and interventionist on an ACT-based smoking program for Latinx who experience anxiety/depression. I am completing my practicum training at the Michael E DeBakey Veteran Affairs Medical Center. This fall, I trained in the Pain Evaluation Center and provided CBT and ACT for chronic pain. Currently, I am in the General Mental Health Clinic providing CBT and Interpersonal Therapy for depression, in addition to co-facilitating two groups. In regard to service, I serve as APA Division 17- Counseling Psychology student representative at UH. In pursuit of my goals to become a more informed and prepared clinician and researcher, I have received formal training as a Tobacco Treatment Specialist as well as an Acceptance and Commitment Therapist. In my spare time, I enjoy working out, spending time with family/friends, playing with my puppy, and traveling.

Future goals:

My goal is to become a well-rounded clinician and researcher in the area of contextual behavioral science, focusing on the role of psychological flexibility/inflexibility on behavioral health related concerns among ethnic minorities.

Relevant publications:

Tavakoli, N., Broyles, A., Reid, E. K., Sandoval, J. R., & Correa-Fernández, V. (2019). Psychological inflexibility as it relates to stress, worry, generalized anxiety, and somatization in an ethnically diverse sample of college students. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 11, 1-5. ISSN 2212-1447. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212144718301698

Correa-Fernández, V., McNeel, M. M., Sandoval, J. R., Tavakoli, N., Kahambwe, J. K., & Kim, H. (2020). Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II: Measurement invariance and associations with distress tolerance among an ethnically diverse university sample. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 17, 1-9. ISSN 2212-1447. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212144719302911

Langdon, K. J., Bakhshaie, J., Lopez, A., Tavakoli, N., Garey, L., Raines, A.M., Kauffman, B. Y., Schmidt, N. B., & Zvolensky, M. J. (2018). Anxiety Sensitivity Physical and Cognitive Concerns in Relation to Smoking-Oriented Cognition: An Examination among Treatment-Seeking Adults Who Smoke. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 12(3), 212–219. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5970020/

Correa-Fernández, V., Tavakoli, N., Motsenbocker, M., & Kim, H. (2021). Hispanics/Latinos' Cigarette and E-cigarette Use: Behavioral and Self-rated Health. American Journal of Health Behavior, 45(1), 95-110. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/png/ajhb/2021/00000045/00000001/art00008

Congratulations to Raul Vaz Manzione on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for September 2018!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Raul:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I started researching in CBS last year (2017) at the RFT Lab at Centro Paradigma, where I received a scholarship for my specialization course to work as an RFT-researcher, and I've worked with Roberta Kovac, my clinical supervisor and fellow researcher, in her Doctoral thesis which is called "Measuring effects of ACT interventions on the transformation of function in arbitrarily related stimuli". I've also translated Steven C. Hayes 1984 paper - Making Sense of Spirituality (the translation is in press) which is part of my ongoing effort to bring important CBS material to non-English speakers that are interested in CBS here in Brazil. I've translated Matthieu Villatte powerpoint presentation to Brazilian Portuguese on a workshop he ministered in São Paulo. As for my own basic CBS research project this year I am running a research, which is part of my specialization thesis, on examining the reinforcing properties of Relational Coherence under the framework of the MDML and DAARRE models. I’m an ACT Therapist working at private practice and I write to a behavior analysis blog called Portal Comporte-se: Psicologia Científica, where I make blog posts about ACT and RFT to the website’s ACT column. I’ve attended to my first ACBS World Conference in Sevilla, 2017, and been to ACT and CBS-related trainings, both in Brazil and International, with names such as Steve Hayes, Kelly Wilson, Kirk Strosahl, Matthieu Villatte, Robert Kohlenberg, Mavis Tsai and others. Currently I'm working as the Student Representative at the ACBS Brazil Chapter.

Autobiography:
My name is Raul Manzione and I'm a CBS student/researcher/practitioner coming from a strong (and somewhat conservative) behavior analytic/Skinnerian background. I first got in touch with behavior analysis and Radical Behaviorism back in 2011 and with CBS back in 2015, where I've first heard about ACT from my supervisor at the time, Cássia Thomaz. Ever since I've heard of it I started my [never-ending] journey into the universe of CBS and focusing on ACT and RFT. I've also helped organizing behavior analytic/CBS events here in Brazil. I was able to meet very important CBS-practitioners here in Brazil which helped me a lot (and still do) to my formation. I attended to my first ACBSWorldcon in Sevilla, Spain, and been to ACT/RFT trainings both there and here in Brazil. I try to be very active in the Brazilian CBS community with the goal of "spreading the word" to Brazilian Psychologists and Health Professionals. I am an ACT Therapist working at private practice and an RFT-researcher at Centro Paradigma de Ciências do Comportamento.

Future goals:
For my future goals: For next year (2019) I plan to keep studying and researching on the Relational Coherence topic; I also plan to apply to do my Masters and PhD on it and next year I plan to apply to the Peer-Reviewed ACT Trainer program so I can run ACT Trainings here in Brazil and the last, but not least, future goal of mine is to write an ACT book (or help to write one).

Relevant publications:
https://www.comportese.com/2017/12/o-valor-da-dor

https://www.comportese.com/2017/07/frutos-diferentes-de-uma-mesma-arvore-act-como-proposta-coerente-com-o-behaviorismo-radical

https://www.comportese.com/2018/02/nunca-sozinho

https://www.comportese.com/2018/07/estou-fazendo-act

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Congratulations to Samuel Spencer on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for September 2022!

Learn more about Samuel Spencer:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

I can fondly recall pivotal moments in my early graduate school years of reading behavior analysis literature and learning about the interesting historical juxtaposition of ‘acceptance vs. change’ within the ‘third wave’ movement. These early experiences ignited in me a profound interest in understanding the mechanisms of both psychopathology and well-being. During graduate school, I have had many opportunities to pursue these interests from a contextual behavioral science (CBS) framework, with a particular focus on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). My current research, working under the mentorship of Dr. Akihiko Masuda at the University of Hawaii, focuses mainly on investigating ACT within a process-based therapy framework, applied to transdiagnostic mental and behavioral health concerns centered around the generalized processes of engaged living and experiential avoidance. We are quite fortunate to have this research supported by an ACBS Research Development Grant (2021). I also conduct quantitative- and psychometric-based research on the relationships among CBS-related constructs and psychological health and vulnerability factors, and how these constructs can be most optimally assessed, especially within culturally diverse contexts. Lastly, I have enjoyed pursuing research and clinical work focused on furthering our understanding and practice of cultural competence, humility, and culturally sensitive adaptations to contextual CBTs- a pressing concern within our multiculturally diverse world. In addition to research, I have also enjoyed serving as a founding member on the board of directors of our newly formed local Hawaii ACBS chapter (est. 2019), as well as regularly organizing panel discussions and symposia at ACBS World Conferences.

Autobiography:

Born and raised in Minnesota, I received a B.S. in psychology and an M.A. in clinical psychology from Minnesota State University, Mankato. I have since traded in my winter parka for beach gear, and currently reside in Honolulu, Hawaii where I am a clinical psychology Ph.D. candidate at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa working under the mentorship of Dr. Akihiko Masuda. I will be completing my pre-doctoral internship during the 2022-2023 training year at Baylor College of Medicine OCD and Related Disorders Track in Houston, Texas. My research interests broadly include acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), psychotherapy process and outcome research, measurement of contextual behavioral science (CBS)-related constructs, and historical and philosophical traditions of CBT and CBS. My dissertation research focuses on examining the mechanisms of change within process-based ACT for transdiagnostic mental and behavioral health concerns and working to improve assessment and measurement of key process and outcome variables. In my clinical work, I utilize an empirically supported process-based CBT framework and empathic therapeutic connection, along with a focus on cultural humility and competency, to assist individuals in overcoming suffering and pursuing values-based living. While I appreciate the broad utility of a transdiagnostic, process based therapeutic approach, much of my clinical training experiences to date have focused on exposure techniques for anxiety disorders, as well as values-based behavioral activation for depression, along with a focus on multiculturalism. I am also actively involved in ACBS at local and international levels, regularly teach undergraduate psychology classes, and enjoy mentoring students.

Future goals:

My future goals involve pursuing an academic career that involves pursuing research that aids our understanding and alleviation of psychological struggles and training the next generation of researchers and behavioral health providers to further those ends.

Relevant publications:

Jo, D., Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2022). Mindfulness as a moderator of the relationship between engaged living and depression in emerging adulthood. Mindfulness, 13(2), 742 – 750. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01831-9

Spencer, S. D., Pokhrel, P., Helm, S., Wilczek, K., Galimov, A., & Sussman, S. (2021). Emerging adulthood attributes and substance use in a sample of Asian and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander college students. Asian American Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000254

Hashimoto, K., Muto, T., Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2020). Mitigating behavioral assimilation to age stereotypes: A preliminary analogue investigation of a contextual behavioral science approach. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 18, 48 – 52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.08.006

Martin, T. J., Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2020). Mindfulness mediates the relationship between mental health self-stigma and psychological distress: A cross-sectional study. Current Psychology. DOI:10.1007/s12144-020-01050-2

Jo, D., Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2020). Mindfulness attenuates the positive association between disordered eating cognition and disordered eating behavior in a sample of college women. Current Psychology. DOI:10.1007/s12144-020-00969-w

Masuda, A., Barile, J., Spencer, S. D., Juberg, M., Martin, T. J., & Vibell, J. F. (2020). Mindful awareness moderates the association between psychological inflexibility and distress variables: A cross-sectional investigation. Journal of American College Health, 70(2), 607 – 614. DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2020.1759607

Hill, M. L., Schaefer, L. W., Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2020). Compassion-focused acceptance and commitment therapy for women with restrictive eating and problematic body-checking: A multiple baseline across participants study. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 16, 144 – 152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.04.006

Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2020). Acceptance and commitment therapy as a transdiagnostic approach to treatment of behavioral health concerns: A concurrent multiple baseline design across participants. Clinical Case Studies, 19(3), 163 – 179. DOI: 10.1177/1534650119897412

Spencer, S. D., Buchanan, J. A., & Masuda, A. (2019). Preliminary findings from a comparison of brief acceptance- and control-based interventions for reducing experiential avoidance in socially-anxious individuals. Behavior Modification, 44(6), 841 – 864. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445519854321

Juberg, M., Spencer, S. D., Martin, T. J., Vibell, J. F., de Costa Ferro, A., Kam, B. R., & Masuda, A. (2019). A mindfulness-based intervention for college students, faculty, and staff: A preliminary investigation. Clinical Case Studies, 18(3), 185 – 199. DOI:10.1177/1534650119836166

Haynes, S. N., Spencer, S. D., Laba, T. M. (in press). Principles and practices of behavioral assessment. In M. Bagby & G. Asmundson (Eds.) Comprehensive clinical psychology, 2nd Ed. Elsevier.

Masuda, A., Morgan, L., Spencer, S.D., Oina’au, J., & Jo, D. (in press). Cultural adaptations of acceptance and commitment therapy. In Twohig, M.P., Levin, M.E., & Petersen, J.M. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Oxford University Press.

Masuda, A., & Spencer, S. D. (in press). Advantages of third wave behavior therapies. In W. T. O’Donohue & A. Masuda (Eds.) Behavior therapy: First, second, and third waves.

Congratulations to Sebastian Garcia-Zambrano on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for February 2021!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Sebastian Garcia-Zambrano:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

As part of his studies in the United States, Sebastian joined the SIU Center for Autism and Spectrum Disorders (CASD), where he was part of a team focused on verbal behavior, social skills, and Acceptance and Commitment Training for children and adolescents diagnosed with ASD.

He considered that the most significant achievement is to improve the quality of life of individuals with disabilities through the use of Acceptance and Commitment Training. His thesis was focused on the evaluation of the effects of deictic framing and defusion on the rate of verbalizations associated with self-as-context in individuals with disabilities. Results were presented at the 2018 ACBS conference and published in the JCBS in 2019. Moreover, he conducted a study with Dr. Mark Dixon, Dr. Becky Barron, and Dr. Natalia Baires to evaluate the effects of ACT-based exercises before the session on staff rigidity and positive interactions among therapists for children with ASD. Results of this study were presented at the 2019 ABAI conference.

In addition, he conducted a study under the supervision of Dr. Shane Koch to evaluate the feasibility of an RFT-based codification of relational frames. Results are under review in the JCBS. As an extension of this study, he is working on the development of a computer-based program to code spatial, temporal, and conditional frames.

Also, he helped Dr. Natalia Baires in the design and reliability measurement of a cultural adaptation of ACT for Hispanic/Latinx caregivers of children with autism. This study was a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy for Dr. Natalia Baires and it was presented in the 2020 Virtual Congress of the Iberoamerican Society of Psychology.

Currently, he is developing a protocol to extend previous studies on perspective-taking under the supervision of Dr. Shane Koch. He wants to connect the latest findings on Contextual Behavioral Science with the current status of cognitive research on "Theory of Mind". Also, he is working on the development of an RFT-based protocol to evaluate deictic frames involved in visual, emotional, and cognitive perspective-taking skills.

Autobiography:

Sebastian Garcia-Zambrano is a Colombian doctoral candidate at the School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences, Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He is part of the lab of Dr. Shane Koch, and his research interests are verbal behavior, self-awareness, and Relational Frame Theory. He studied his masters at Southern Illinois University under the supervision of Dr. Ruth Anne Rehfeldt and his bachelor's at Konrad Lorenz Fundación Universitaria in Bogotá, Colombia.

Sebastian has been working for more than ten years with individuals with disabilities and is currently working at a residential facility. He started his professional life by providing behavioral services to children and adolescents diagnosed with autism at an agency called Horizontes ABA in Bogotá, Colombia. Then, Sebastian moved to the United States to study under the supervision of Dr. Rehfeldt. He joined the SIU Center for Autism and Spectrum Disorders (CASD), where he was part of a team focused on verbal behavior, social skills, and Acceptance and Commitment Training for children and adolescents.

Currently, he is developing a protocol to extend previous studies on perspective-taking under the supervision of Dr. Shane Koch. He wants to connect the latest findings on Contextual Behavioral Science with the current status of cognitive research on "Theory of Mind". Currently, he is working on the development of an RFT-based protocol to evaluate deictic frames involved in visual, emotional, and cognitive perspective-taking skills.

Future goals:

My goal is to extend previous studies on perspective-taking and connect the field with traditional perspectives on perspective-taking. I am also working on a project to develop a computer-based program to identify relational frames from transcripts and discourses.

Relevant publications:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sebastian_Garcia-Zambrano

Book Chapters
Garcia, Y., Rosales, R., & Garcia-Zambrano, S., Rehfeldt, R.A. Basic Verbal Behavior (2020). In M. J. Fryling, R.A. Rehfeldt, J. Tarbox, & L. Hayes (Eds.), Applied behavior analysis of language and cognition: Core concepts and principles for practitioners. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.

Peer-Reviewed Publications
García- Zambrano, S., Rehfeldt, R. A., Hertel, I. P., Boehmert, R. (2019). Effects of deictic framing and defusion on the development of self-as-context in individuals with disabilities. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 12, 55-58. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212144718302047

García, Y. A., Cristiano, L., & García, S. (2013). Development of language in children: A behavior analysis perspective. Horizontes Pedagógicos, 15(1), 8.

Works under Review
Tilden, V., Barron, B., Dixon, M.R., & García-Zambrano, S. (under review). Effects of mindfulness and ACT-based exercises on positive interactions among therapists for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal in Contextual Behavioral Science.

García-Zambrano, S., Baires, N. A., Catrone, R. G, Goyal, M. K., Hinman, J. M., Babbra, A. S., & Koch, D. S. (under review). A Preliminary Analysis on the Reliability of Coding Political Discourses According to Relational Frames. Journal in Contextual Behavioral Science.

Baires, N., García-Zambrano, S., & Koch, D. S. (under review). Missing Identities: Who is Participating in Teaching Behavior Analysis within Higher Education? Behavior Analysis in Practice.

Britwum, K., García-Zambrano, S., Baires, N. A., Koch, D. S. (under review). Policing and Values: A Behavioral Conceptualization of the Values that Influence actions of Police. Behavior Analysis in Practice.
 

Congratulations to Sérgio Andrade Carvalho on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for April 2019!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Sérgio:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I have started studying CBS in 2010, as a Masters student at University of Coimbra, Portugal. My master thesis was supervised by José Pinto-Gouveia, and we explored the relationship between socialization of emotions, emotional schemas, cognitive fusion and psychopathological symptoms in the general population. After completing my Masters and with a newly discovered interest in ACT, I went to Edinburgh for 5-month and learnt with David Gillanders more about CBS research and ACT with chronic pain patients. I have been conducting research on the efficacy of CBS-based interventions in different health conditions (psychosis, binge eating in obesity, chronic pain), and on the relationship between psychological processes and health outcomes. I am a research member of projects that are testing ICT-delivered contextual-behavioral interventions (for binge eating and chronic pain), including an Horizon2020 European consortium (NoHoW) that is developing and testing the efficacy of an ICT-delivered multi-center intervention for weight-loss maintenance. I have been particularly interested in self-compassion, and I am a member of an international project that explores cross-cultural differences in the meaning and experience of compassion. I am currently on the 3rd year of my PhD, which has two main goals: 1) to test the adding value of two self-compassion sessions in a 6-session ACT group intervention for women with chronic pain (COMP.ACT), and 2) to better understand the relationship between self-compassion and ACT core processes, through both cross-sectional and three-wave 1-year longitudinal designs. Several papers on this have been published or are currently under review.

Autobiography:
I was born on an island (São Miguel) of a beautiful Portuguese archipelago (Azores). In 2006, I went to Coimbra, a city at the heart of Portugal mainland, to study Psychology, which was a transformative experience, both at an academic and personal level. I´m a 3rd year PhD student in Clinical Psychology, and I am currently developing my research on self-compassion and ACT in chronic pain. I have found CBS to be a useful tool that has enriched my interpersonal relationships, and shifted my understanding of what being human is all about. Since my graduation in 2011, I have been conducting research on CBS, and have recently embraced the challenge of being a partner of a private practice organization (https://gabinetepsicologiacoimbra.com) that provides different educational and clinical services, including transfer knowledge on mental health literacy to the general population. In addition to my PhD studies, I am also part of several projects, including on CBS and Gender and Sexual Minorities, which interests me both as a researcher and as an activist. In addition to studying clinical psychology, the recent global political events have made me very interested in the interface between CBS and politics, particularly on the evolutionary basis for group-thinking, and both the potential and limitations of interpersonal-level social change. I am an avid consumer of music (from Progressive Metal to Soul and Spirituals), a lover of books (from poetry to science communication), and a proud uncle of two smart, beautiful and overly-active 6-year old kids.

Future goals:
In addition to continuing doing research on clinical psychology, after completing my PhD, I am very much interested in exploring CBS as a science-based route for social change, especially the use of evidence-based knowledge as tools for social justice, and more specifically to develop research that integrates social psychology topics (e.g. social representation) and CBS as useful lenses to understand the role of identity and discrimination, and promoting social acceptance of diversity.

Relevant publications:
- https://estudogeral.sib.uc.pt/handle/10316/47269 [Petrocchi, N., Matos, M., Carvalho, S. & Baiocco, R. (2016). Compassion-Focused Therapy in the Treatment of Shame-Based Difficulties in Gender and Sexual Minorities. In Skinta, M.D. & Curtin, A. (2016), Mindfulness and Acceptance for Gender and Sexual Minorities. Oakland, CA: Context Press. 1st Edition, pp. 69-86.]

- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212144718301509 [Carvalho, S.A., Palmeira, L., Gillanders, D., Pinto-Gouveia, J., & Castilho, P. (2018). The utility of the valuing questionnaire in chronic pain. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 9, 21-29. doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2018.06.002]

- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00223980.2018.1507990 [Carvalho, S.A., Pinto-Gouveia, J., Gillanders, D., & Castilho, P. (2018). Pain and depressive symptoms: exploring cognitive fusion and self-compassion in a moderated mediation model. The Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied. doi: 10.1080/00223980.2018.1507990]

- https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/an-implementation-trial-of-actbased-bibliotherapy-for-irritable-bowel-syndrome(ae011e00-1616-454e-afdb-87548294c3cd).html [Gillanders, D., Ferreira, N. B., Angioni, E., Carvalho, S. A., & Eugenicos, M. P. (2017). An Implementation Trial of ACT-Based Bibliotherapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 6(2), 172-177. doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2017.04.006].

- http://self-compassion.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Pinto-Gouveia2016.pdf [Pinto-Gouveia, J., Carvalho, S., Palmeira, L., Castilho, P., Duarte, C., Ferreira, C., Duarte, J., Cunha, M., Matos, M. & Costa, J. (2016). Incorporating psychoeducation, mindfulness and self-compassion in a new program for binge eating (BEfree): exploring processes of change. Journal of Health Psychology. Epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1177/1359105316676628].

- https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/94982315.pdf [Lapa, T. A., Carvalho, S., Viana, J. S., Ferreira, P. L., & Pinto-Gouveia, J. (2016). Stressors in anaesthesiology: development and validation of a new questionnaire: A cross-sectional study of Portuguese anaesthesiologists. European Journal of Anaesthesiology (EJA), 33(11), 807-815. doi: 10.1097/EJA.0000000000000518].

- https://estudogeral.sib.uc.pt/handle/10316/47036?locale=pt_PT [Baião, R., Gilbert, P., McEwan, K., & Carvalho, S. (2015). Forms of self‐criticising/attacking & self‐reassuring scale: Psychometric properties and normative study. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 88(4), 438-452. doi: 10.1111/papt.12049].

Congratulations to Wang Fenfen on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for May 2017!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts. This will be a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Wang:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I have been learning CBS, conducting related studies and disseminating ACT and RFT since 2015 when I started working with Dr. Zhu Zhuohong for Master’s degree.

Over the past nearly two years, I have published 32 popular science articles about ACT and RFT on the website and WeChat public platform, which is the most popular social media in China, of Computer Network Information Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences and some newspapers. Also, I am the coordinator of translation of three books and also one of the translators, one of which was published (i.e., the Chinese version of ACT Made Simple by Dr. Russ Harris).

The main research project I finished was the pilot study that attempted to construct and evaluate the learning model of metaphorical reasoning for children with ASD in China. We utilized multiple exemplar training to teach them to establish the relational frames among subjects in a metaphor based on RFT. Participants included four children, aged 12-16, with a diagnosis of ASD. The results revealed their success in post-training phase and probe session, for accuracy data in all sessions reached above 80%. Two of them even got 100% in the fifth or sixth session. I submitted a manuscript based on this study along with another review manuscript, and both of them are still under review. What’s more, I have also helped with more than seven Master’s students’ studies on ACT and RFT in our research team and four of them almost finish it.

Autobiography:
My name is Wang Fenfen. I am a second-year Master’s student in Psychological Flexibility/Applied Psychology at the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. I did my B.S. in Psychology at the Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

I’m very positive and earnest. I love children, and I believe that everyone was born with great ability and assets, sometimes it is subtle and needs to be discovered. Now, I’m working on my Master’s degree under the supervision of Dr. Zhu Zhuohong, who is the president of the China Chapter of ACBS. My works include the application of ACT and mindfulness-based practice in daily life, counseling and the study of training derived relational responding for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders based on RFT.

Also, I used to work as the editor for several websites and social media at Zhejiang University and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Therefore, I’m quite skilled in editing and typesetting. I also write popular science articles. Over the past two years, I have done many works on our group’s WeChat public platform to disseminate CBS, ACT, and RFT to professionals and the general public.

Future goals:
I hope I will succeed in the future study on the assessment and training of derived relational responding for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders based on RFT.

Relevant publications:
http://epaper.ynet.com/html/2016-01/07/content_175404.htm?div=-1&from=singlemessage&isappinstalled=1
http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/6ZulGJRtIVEmNIL8-c65WQ
http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/4YRXjWcBq9HDcjf-5t2D-w
http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/pawMPS8cdx5kynCLNn-zag
http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/FlxrQvsssAcMwOPtFi8c-g
http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MjM5NDg4OTEwMQ==&mid=207335546&idx=1&sn=512d942ff11d1bef4aefa003ad851ea7&scene=1#rd
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http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20160509142028.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20160329111995.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20160303111966.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20160205131953.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20151230131916.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20151208131893.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20151116141868.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20151103151845.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20150922091810.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20150831141735.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20150817151702.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20150811141688.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20150723151647.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20150515151542.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20150420091498.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20150330151475.html
http://xwxj.blog.kepu.cn/20150302161434.html

Congratulations to Wenqian ZHAO on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for September 2023!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Wenqian ZHAO:

Hi, my name is Wenqian ZHAO, Chaney. I come from a lovely family in a beautiful city named Lanzhou, Gansu province, north of China. I am a person with a wide range of hobbies, including passionate guitar playing and singing, and quiet and subtle traditional Chinese painting. These experiences have allowed me to develop a character that is both passionate and careful.

I am now working on my PhD study with the supervision of Prof. Wai Tong Chien, and Prof. Yuen Yu CHONG, at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. I hope that through my research, we can find more effective ways to help cancer patients recover faster and better. I am now also interested in the combined application of art therapy such as music and painting in the context of behavioural science, hoping to become a professional ACT interventionist and bring my enthusiasm for life to everyone who is going through or has suffered horrible experiences.

Future goals:

I will further make efforts in research works about the combination utilization of contextual behavioural science and nursing science, especially the ACT-based interventions on cancer patients’ and their families’ health-related outcomes.

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

I have been learning ACT for five years and have participated in more than 40 hours of learning about ACT theoretical knowledge, and more than 30 hours of training and supervision on ACT skills. I have been doing research on the application of ACT in breast cancer patients, including a master's project and a doctoral project. In my master’s study, I validated the Chinese version of the cognitive fusion questionnaire (CFQ) and conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of ACT-based intervention on sleep quality and psychological well-being in breast cancer patients. In my doctoral study, I also translated the the original version of CompACT into Mandarin and validated it in the breast cancer survivors. I am now doing a PhD research project about the effectiveness of ACT-based intervention on breast cancer patients’ body image disturbance.

So far, I have published three related articles and five conference presentations, and got the 2022 ACBS Foundation Grant in the areas of behavioural context-optional and nursing science. I will continue conducting research on the combination of behavioural context science and nursing science to promote the development of clinical psychological nursing work as well as the patient's well-being.

Relevant publications:

He, X., Ng, M. S., Wang, X., Guo, P., Li, L., Zhao, W., . . . So, W. K. (2021). A dance program to manage a fatigue-sleep disturbance-depression symptom cluster among breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy: A feasibility study. Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing, 8(3), 337-339. https://doi.org/10.4103/2347-5625.308677

X.He, W.K.W.So, K.C.Choi, L.Li, W.Zhao, & M.Zhang. (2019). CN83Symptom cluster of fatigue, sleep disturbance and depression and its impact on quality of life among Chinese breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy: A cross-sectional study. Annals of Oncology,
30(5), v840. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdz276.015

Zhou, K., Wang, W., Zhao, W., Li, L., Zhang, M., Guo, P., . . . Li, X. (2020). Benefits of a WeChatbased multimodal nursing program on early rehabilitation in postoperative women with breast cancer: A clinical randomized controlled tria. International Journal of Nursing, 106, 103565. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103565

赵雯倩,李璐璐,王雪,李小妹. (2021). 乳腺癌病人经验性回避与认知融合现状及关系框架分析 [Study on the status of empirical avoidance and cognitive fusion in breast cancer patients and their correlation]. Nursing research, 19(02):153-157.

赵雯倩,李小妹,王雯,李璐璐,张蒙悦. (2020). 中文版认知融合问卷在乳腺癌人群中的信效度研究 [Reliability and validity of Chinese version of cognitive fusion questionnaire in breast cancer patients]. Contemporary Nurse, 27(06):25-26.

赵雯倩,李璐璐,张蒙悦,白雪,李小妹. (2020). 术后化疗期乳腺癌患者心理痛苦及其心理僵化相关 影响因素研究 [Study on psychological distress and its influencing factors in breast cancer patients undergoing postoperative chemotherapy]. Journal of Nursing Science, 35(13):65-68.

李璐璐,李小妹,韩冬芳,李佳颖,赵雯倩,张蒙悦. (2020). 乳腺癌患者心理痛苦轨迹及影响因素的纵 向研究 [A longitudinal study of identification and predication of psychological distress trajectories among breast cancer patients]. Chinese Journal of Nursing, 55(08):1140-1146.

李璐璐,张蒙悦,赵雯倩,王雯,李小妹. (2019). 中文版 10 项目大五人格量表在乳腺癌病人中应用的 信效度分析 [Reliability and Validity Analysis of Chinese Version 10 Big Five Personality Scale in Breast Cancer Patients]. Nursing Research, 33(06): 970-973.

王雯,周凯娜,赵雯倩,李璐璐,张蒙悦,郭萍利,周灿,李敏捷,安靖华,李小妹. (2019). 网络化持续康复 护理支持对乳腺癌术后化疗病人健康相关生活质量的影响 [Effects of networked continuous rehabilitation nursing on health-related quality of life in postoperative chemotherapy patients
with breast cancer]. Nursing Research,33(11):1821-1826.

Congratulations to Cainã Gomes on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for February 2017!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts. This will be a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Cainã:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
Despite the few opportunites we have here in Brazil, I was fortunate enough to meet some colegues (William Perez, Roberta Kovac, Julio de Rose and Diana Bast) who introduced me to RFT and ACT. Since then, I have been studying RFT for the past three years on a weekly basis. We have a research group that has been very active and developing fast. I've completed two year course of specialization in clincal behavior therapy, which gave me basis to start a clincal practice this year. Despite that, I have little formal ACT formation so far, just a week-length workshop with Carmen Luciano last year. I've been volunteering for the past two years in the child psychiatric area of Universidade de São Paulo hospital with children who have OCD, it's a public hospital and the symptoms are frequently severe and the work is very rewarding.

Autobiography:
I had a very conservative behavior analyst formation during my undergraduate years, despite of that, I was never fully convinced that the traditional skinnerian framework of verbal and rule-governed behavior was adequate. The insatisfatcion became even greater when I started my clinical practice: the complexity of verbal relations I was seeing just couldn't be explained by tradicional behavior analytic accounts. Something was missing.

That was when I heard about RFT. At first, the vocabulary just seemed very odd and the experiments very difficult to understand. But after a while, the experimental data became so convincing that I wasn't able to go back. In addition, the ACT framework became more clear once I started applying, not only reading, specially to anxiety disorders patients. So far, the results have been much better than with tradicional behavioral therapy. I hope I can continue to learn more and bring CBS to Brazil, where there are a lot of behavior analysts, but very few willing to study RFT and ACT. There is, still, a lot of prejudice towards CBS.

In my masters I’m developing an experimental research about rule-governed behavior and transformation of stimulus functions.
In the first three months of 2017, I’ll be at Ghent University to collect all the data for my masters, under the supervision of Dermot Barnes-Holmes. By the time of the next conference, I'll have some interesting data to show.

Future Goals:
I'm committed to the development of experimental research in rule-governed behavior from an RFT perspective with collaboration of more experienced researchers.

Relevant publications:
Bast, D.F., Linares, I.M.P., Gomes, C. et al. The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) as a Measure of Self-Forgiveness: The Impact of a Training History in Clinical Behavior Analysis. Psychol Rec 66, 177–190 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-016-0162-7

Congratulations to Corinna Stewart on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for January 2017!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts. This will be a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Corinna:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I completed my Psychology degree at NUI Maynooth (NUIM), where I undertook modules in behaviourism and Relational Frame Theory (RFT). My final year research project used the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) to investigate gender and self-esteem. After graduating, I worked as a Research Assistant in NUIM investigating smoking cessation using the IRAP. I then worked on an RCT of ACT for depression in psychosis in Glasgow University, where I became interested in paranoia and how a CBS approach might inform our understanding of and help normalize these experiences. I was awarded a scholarship to undertake a PhD on this topic at NUI Galway and recently publish a paper on a CBS approach to delusions in JCBS. My research utilizes the IRAP and other RFT-based methods to explore paranoia from a CBS perspective. I have presented this work at local and international conferences and submitted two of my studies for publication. I joined the ACBS Psychosis SIG taskforce and currently manage our social media. I have pursued my interest in global mental health and CBS in my role as research leader with commit and act, an NGO that provides psychotherapeutic support in Sierra Leone. We have published an evaluation of our ACT training workshops in JCBS and a chapter in the Palgrave Handbook of Global Mental Health. I have also presented our work at ACBS World and UK Chapter conferences. Recently, we were awarded an ACBS grant for our ‘DARE to connect’ program, which supports couples affected by domestic violence.
Three sentence summary of CBS research/clinical/volunteering efforts/achievements (for social media use if you win): I am a final year PhD student at NUI Galway, studying RFT and paranoia using the IRAP. I’m also the research team leader at commit and act – an international NGO that uses ACT, PROSOCIAL, and CBS principles to promote mental health and wellbeing in Sierra Leone. I have been a member of ACBS for over 8 years - I love the warmth, support and fun that this community brings to the science of alleviating suffering and promoting prosociality and vitality.

Autobiography:
I’m from Derry in Northern Ireland. I first became interested in mental health when I studied A Level Psychology at secondary school. I went on to complete a BA in Psychology at NUI Maynooth, where I was first introduced to RFT and CBS. After my degree, I attended an ACT workshop at the ACBS World Conference in Enschede. These experiences had a profound effect on me – I found ACT to be personally transformative and empowering and CBS changed the way I see the world entirely. I am committed to studying and contributing to our understanding of how CBS principles can be used to alleviate suffering and promote wellbeing through my PhD work on paranoia and voluntary work with the ACBS Psychosis SIG and commit and act. These activities have also introduced me to some truly incredible people, who have become mentors and lifelong friends.

I also try to apply CBS to my everyday life. I often find myself saying things like “I wonder what the function of their behavior is?”, “Thank your mind for that”, and “Those transformation of stimulus functions can be pretty rough alright!” I find that having few friends gives me more time for my research and other hobbies! When I’m not "RFTing" (even though technically we are constantly RFTing or “AARRing” once we become verbal), you’ll find me baking and cooking for friends and family, in downward dog or savasana on my yoga mat, or walking along the Prom or beautiful hills of Connemara in Galway.

Future goals:
After my PhD, I plan to continue investigating paranoia from a CBS perspective working with researchers and clinicians from various backgrounds and perspectives. I will also continue working with commit and act to establish structures for research that will help us better understand local issues and improve our work.

Relevant publications:
Stewart, C., Ebert, B., & Bockarie, B. (in press). commit and act in Sierra Leone (Book chapter). In R. White, U. Read, S. Jain, & D. Orr (Eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of Global Mental Health: Socio-cultural Perspectives. Palgrave Publishers Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-137-39510-8 http://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781137395092

Stewart, C., Stewart, I., & Hughes, S. (in press). A functional account of (persecutory) delusions. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2016.09.002

Stewart, C., White, R., Ebert, B., Mays, I., Nardozzi, J., & Bockarie, H. (2016). A preliminary evaluation of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy training in Sierra Leone. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2016.01.001

Gumley, A., White, R. G., Briggs, A., Ford, I., Barry, S., Stewart, C., Beedie, S., Clarke, C., MacLeod, R., Lidstone, E., Nam, J., & McLeod, H. (2015). A Parallel group Randomised Open Blinded Evaluation of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Depression After Psychosis: A Pilot Trial Protocol (ADAPT). Psychosis: Psychological, Social and Integrative Approaches. DOI: 10.1080/17522439.2015.1100669

Congratulations to Sonia Singh on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for May 2017!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts. This will be a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Sonia:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I am a true believer in the scientist-practitioner model and work to be strong in both CBS research and practice. Through my masters program at the University of Houston-Clear Lake and through my doctoral study at Bowling Green State University, I have several years of direct experience utilizing CBS-based therapies to treat several different populations. For example, during my first year at BGSU, I developed and utilized a single-subject design study using Functional Analytic Psychotherapy for nursing home residents. Further, I am actively involved in a two-year randomized control trial research study funded by the Bureau of Workers Compensation assessing the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to reduce work stress, assault, injury, and abuse in nurses and nurse aides in long-term care settings compared to a wait-list control. I have also co-facilitated several ACT groups and developed the ACT protocol that is currently being used at my clinical externship site, the Toledo Veterans Affair Outpatient Clinic, as well as attended numerous multi-day national and international conferences and workshops based on various CBS therapies. I also helped co-author a chapter focused on using Functional Analytic Psychotherapy to treat shame in gender and sexual orientation minorities, and will be hosting Matthew Skinta and Aisling Curtin's upcoming webinar "Out of the Closet: Into the Context."

Autobiography:
I am a third year graduate student in clinical psychology at Bowling Green State University working with Dr. Bill O'Brien. Prior to moving to cold northwest Ohio, I was first introduced to contextual behavior therapies at the University of Houston-Clear Lake in Houston, TX, where I obtained my MA in clinical psychology. During my time there, I developed a passion for utilizing ACT and FAP, which then lead to my research interest in CBS. My thesis project was an examination of the efficacy of FAP single-subject research studies, and I hope my dissertation will be an evaluation of mindfulness and acceptance for work stress in sexual orientation minorities. I am also extremely interested CBS as it applies to anxiety disorders and OC-spectrum conditions, as a result of my work at UH-CL with Dr. Chad Wetterneck. I have been a part of the ACBS world for 5 years now, and I love attending conferences, workshops, and connecting with other like minded people.

Future goals:
I hope to land in academia and become a stronger scientist-practitioner in the world of ACBS and utilize contextual behavior therapies with underserved and stigmatized populations.

Relevant publications:
Singh, S., O’Brien, W.H. Functional Analytic Psychotherapy for Nursing Home Residents: A Single-Subject Investigation of Session-by-Session Changes. J Contemp Psychother 47, 173–180 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-016-9352-5
 

Congratulations to Victoria Ameral on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for March 2017!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts. This will be a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Victoria: 

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
I began my clinical training in ACT as a second year graduate student, and now, as a fifth year, I am an advanced peer supervisor for second year students in Clark University’s ACT practicum. ACT and RFT have influenced all of my independent research endeavors as a graduate student. My master’s thesis evaluated the differential impact of negative and positive reinforcement processes on quality of life in depression. In addition to using this general measure of functioning, I also tested the model in a mixed sample to evaluate its impact across the well-being continuum. My dissertation research, for which I received a student research grant from APA Division 50, is an experimental test of values clarification in opioid use disorder. I am investigating whether a brief values clarification exercise increases motivation for abstinence, and whether it does so by improving the ability to delay gratification.

I also consider my personal outreach efforts to be a sort of CBS volunteer effort. While working as a full time research assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital, I made a number of friends who are now training in second wave CBT programs. I very much enjoy engaging in active discussions with them around the differences between ACT and CBT. I think these conversations can be a powerful tool for making ACT accessible to those who did not receive third-wave training as graduate students.

Autobiography:
I am a fifth year doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at Clark University, where I work with Dr. Kathleen Palm Reed. I graduated summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2008, where I completed my honors thesis in cognitive neuroscience. I then spent four years as a research assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital prior to starting graduate school.

As a result of my undergraduate and post-baccalaureate experiences, I am drawn to research and clinical approaches that address the limitations of our diagnostic system, and bridge the gap with related fields such as neuroscience. I became interested in substance use disorders through my clinical work, and over the past 2+ years have continued to work with this population. I am passionate about supporting individuals with substance use disorders to rebuild a valued life, a focus which inherently rejects the notion that addiction is the result of some moral failing. Addiction research has also long highlighted the role of reinforcement in substance use disorders, and I am excited by the potential links between reinforcement processes and values work.

In addition to this focus on substance use disorders, I have a broader interest in work that improves the lives of stigmatized groups, including victims of interpersonal violence and sexual and gender minority individuals. At the end of my career, I hope to be described as an affirming and respectful clinical scientist who was passionate about my work.

Future goals:
I aim to build a clinical research career bridging the gap between clinical science and practice in the treatment of substance use disorders, with a particular focus on processes related to values and motivation.

 

I'm a clinical psychologist working in Argentina. My main area of interest (and the main reason for attending to the conference), is the dissemination and training of EST in Argentina, specially low-cost interventions with a wide spectrum. In terms of therapies, this means ACT and also BATD (values-driven behavioral activation, Lejuez et al).

And, since Parma, a lot of good things had happened. First of all, we've created the SIG for Dissemination (the majority of the scholarship's recipients are on the SIG), which is a whole challenge on itself (I think there are as many languages as people on the SIG, it is a beautiful thing), and we are giving our firsts steps with it.

Specifically in Argentina, we had our first BATD and ACT workshops a couple of months ago. Particularly, the ACT workshop (with Kelly Wilson), had more than 80 attendees, which is just crazy in a country with a long standing psychoanalytic tradition (even CBT is relatively new around here). I've been giving some short lectures on several places (including the university of buenos aires, which in a sense is like teaching in Freud's backyard. Highly rewarding.), and we are having our first "native" workshop next month. In addition to that, we are starting to work on a research project using behavioral activation for depression. Im particularly interested on the act-related mediational factors for BA, so maybe in a couple of years we'll get back to you with some data about it (and btw, research funding for psychology is nearly zero, so almost everything in this is just will-supported).

If you interested in any of the things we are working on, drop me an email, join the SIG http://groups.yahoo.com/group/acbsdisseminationsig/, or buy me a beer at DC this year :-)

Peace,
Fabian Maero
 

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

I, Belal Mustafa, am a fresh graduate from the Jordan University of Sciences and Technology (JUST) located in Middle East country of Jordan, currently holding a master degree in applied behavior analysis.

I have participated in the ninth ACBS world conference held last year in the city of Parma- Italy as being awarded a scholarship by ACBS’s committee to attend that international event gathering. The invaluable benefits I gained through that event have significantly helped achieve my learning and performance objectives. Eventually, the exposure and presentation I had through the course of the conference was translated into an experience I am currently sharing with the rest of applied behavior research community in the region (Middle East and North Africa).

My main objectives are centered at enhancing my RFT, ACT and other contextual behavior science knowledge and experience, and serving the community specially those whom are suffering worldwide. More specifically, it is on how these conferences positively contribute to my personal and academic goals.

Through the course of these conferences I have established relations with professionals from all over the world. Preconference workshops were a great opportunity to exchange experience and knowledge about ACT that continued and extended to a network of relations that I am very proud of. The conference was a valuable opportunity to acquire up to date knowledge on latest ACT & RFT research introduced by most known professors in the track of contextual behavior science from overall the world. It is worth mentioning that, Behavior Analysis science is still a new field in my entire region that is why more effort is extremely needed in educating ACT, RFT, and other contextual science theories. In this context and since my attendance in the ninth conference till now I am working hard to hopefully implement ACT, RFT at our university’s hospital. Moreover, after attending the conference I've started preparing a research paper analyzing the “Arab spring” phenomenon and current region nations revolutions from an RFT perspective, I may considered myself a pioneer with this approach at both my university and within the entire region, where as this is the first psychological and behavioristic analysis to this phenomenon, in addition I believe that I am one of the first people in middle east region who worked on relational frame theory (RFT).

Considering RFT, ACT, and contextual behavior science becoming the most interesting fields in behavior analysis and psychology in general, , I was all the time keen to get advanced knowledge through my attendance at the ninth conference. Following my ambitious in this regard, I proposed establishing an ACBS chapter in the Middle East region and North Africa ; Since then I have made serious endeavors at initiating this promising chapter that disseminate ACBS values, serve professionals and students from one side, and patients whom indeed need to be treated deploying this prominent science from the other side.

I cannot ignore the positive impact and experience I gained by being a member of the “CBS Dissemination in Developing Nations” Special Interest Group (SIG). Finally, beside all of what I have mentioned before, I cannot emphasizes enough one of the benefits the ninth conference have served, which is getting acquainted with seasoned professors and scientist which in return gave me the chance to get consultation and guidance on many issues related to this science and others. Furthermore, I am communicating with other ACBS official chapters to enhance my presentation in future scientific conferences, looking to maximize my educational knowledge in this prominent track as well. In essence, I consider this conference a precious and priceless event I cannot bear to miss.

Many Thanks and Best Regards

Belal Mustafa
A member of Jordanian Applied Behavior Analysis Association.
Bsn,RN,Master Degree at ABA program in Jordan University of Sciences and Technology.

Irbid, Jordan
 

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

My name is Manuel Garayar and I’m from Peru. Since I’ve got back to my country, I've continued with my scientific blog about CBS in Spanish (http://conductistaenperu.wordpress.com/). It worked very well because, a few months later, I received an invitation to give a presentation about some topic related to Functional Contextualism. For my audience, I choosed the title: “Functional Contextualism: A contemporary monistic perspective to understand and influence on cognitive events” and my goal was to give a broad perspective about philosophical issues that underly CBS, and an introduction about their theoretical (RFT) and applied dimensions (ACT).

As I said in my poster presentation at Parma, I’ve continued doing workshops, helping others learn about ACT and Psychological Flexibility as a way of promoting personal development. I think that CBS can be promoted by demonstrating that its products are useful for the problems that common people label with their own words (low self-esteem, anger control, leadership, etc.). The interventions were planned, for example, using notions like self as context vs. self as content for deminishing the discriminative functions of the “negative” self-statements known as “low self-esteem”. I’ve shared some of this work through the ACT listserv (a power point presentations called “Lidiando con emociones no deseadas” [“Dealing with unwanted emotions”] for someone who was looking for some material in Spanish for his client).

As a therapist, I’ve been working with children, adolescents and adults (especially, parents). My experience is that the psychological flexibility model is a powerful and useful approach for the therapist in his role of helping the client to get a valuable life for him/her. A clear advance after the conference is that I’ve made an initial adaptation of the “feeding the tiger” metaphor for working with unwanted emotions in children, which I call “the story of the monster” who is presented as an analog of their emotions and thoughts and the notion that the problem comes when you always do “what the monster says”, adding to this some training in basic mindfulness repertoires.

In the same way, my Peruvian partner (Silvia Melgar) and I are preparing an experiential seminar with the goal of giving an introductory level of knowledge about CBS (ACT/FAP, RFT, FC). In April, I’ll travel to Buenos Aires (Argentina) to give a class about Functional Contextualism. Besides this class, I’m co-working on the possibility of a seminar about CBS topics too. For October, Silvia and I are organizing an ACT workshop (with Patricia Zurita) which will be the first one in my country.

In my country, it’s really important to show in both contexts, academic and professional, that there’s a powerful scientific approach, which emerging from the past behavioral and cognitive interventions, is giving new solutions from a contextual behavioristic point of view. The scholarship received from the ACBS (my new family around the world) was, of course, fundamental because I received more tools for achieving this goal. I’m sure that CBS approach can fill the void of dealing with suffering with verbal subjects in a human, pragmatic and scientific way. Our clients, the people who trust in us, will receive this benefit.
 

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Silvia Melgar

My Peruvian partner (Manuel Garayar) and I are preparing an experiential seminar with the goal of giving an introductory level of knowledge about CBS (ACT/FAP, RFT, FC). In October, Manuel and I are organizing an ACT workshop (with Patricia Zurita) which will be the first one in my country.

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Report by Krisztina G. Szabó, PhD
Psychotherapist, trainer and supervisor in Ericksonian Pyschotherapy and Client- Centered Psychotharapy (Focusing)
Cluj, Romania

The scholarship represented a unique opportunity to participate in an intensive 14 hours pre-conference workshop and in 6 other workshops during the conference. Through this experience, I got a comprehensive understanding of the core processes of ACT and learned ways of using related concepts and techniques based on the model to develop therapeutic and supervision interventions. My previous readings about ACT have already provided me with a new understanding of processes related to therapeutic change, adding more effectiveness to my work; but it has been so important to actually see how different ACT professionals work, because for me this created a “shortcut” to the deep and living sense of what ACT means.

Another tremendous gain was to meet the ACBS community live and to experience that declared values really are the compass of acting and interacting within it. I consider this kind of experience really vital, especially when coming from a community still paying tribute to authority- and hierarchy-driven relationships.

So far, my dissemination activities have consisted in:
- using ACT in clinical practice
- introducing the ACT model trough all my teaching and training activities (seminars in clinical psychology and psychotherapy, trainings in psychotherapy/CE, as well as in supervision);
- bringing with me a colleague to the conference, who actively supported me further in all of the following activities:

• organizing a summer-camp (30 hours of training) on the topic of fostering psychological flexibility, where we presented the ACT model and specific techniques and also discussed ways of using the model in clinical practice; we also offered access to all the relevant materials (books and articles) we have. The program was credited with 30 CE credits by the Romanian College of Psychologists (August, 2011);
• developing a personal development program for adolescents based on ACT (ACT flexibly!); the program is thought to be an 8-week group activity, with the aim of fostering psychological flexibility; we organized a two-day intensive training (16 hours) for counselors and therapists interested in applying the program and also continuous assistance; we offered a brochure containing the specific topic and the objectives targeted in each session, as well as samples of recommended activities and guidelines. So far we have 20 therapists involved in the program, from different towns, and are still more interested. This program is sustained on a volunteer basis (the training and the assistance is free, as well as the participation in the group); we offered access to all the materials we have (books, articles etc.) and which are relevant to the topic;
• have submitted our proposal to translate into Romanian the best-seller Get out of your mind and into your life to a prestigious publisher;
• founding the Institute for Contextual Psychological Technologies which basically aims to promote values, views and principles grounded in functional contextualism, and to contribute to the dissemination and enrichment of knowledge and technologies based on that (the process in ongoing);
• have translated into Hungarian (in addition to the Romanian version) the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II and we are working on its validation; we have translated into Romanian and Hungarian the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (for the Hungarian versions we have collaborated with a colleague from Hungary);

It is to be mentioned that we conducted our teaching and training activities being certified trainers by the Romanian College of Psychologists; we did not presented ourselves as ACT-trainers, but shared our understanding and experience with it.
 

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

From Hannah Bockarie Sierra Leone West Africa.

 Subject. Report on ACBS Conference Attended 2011.

The painful and bitter experience of the war in Sierra Leone left most people with traumatic experiences and the feeling of unstable minds, the ACBS conference has help me touch many lives. It helped build my skills that I use to help people with mental health problems. With the help of these tools, major achievements have been done in the following ways:

1. After the ACBS Conference, training was organized for eight therapists in Bo Southern part of Sierra Leone at my place of work. The topic ACT for Life was presented, for which they were very much grateful. They were able to understand the basic concept, and learned some new skills for dealing with clients.

2. A supervision meeting for therapists in Freetown the capital city was organized where I facilitate on the topic ACT and the Treatment of Trauma. This helps therapists learn the usefulness of ACT in the treatment of trauma, a new tool of dealing with traumatic cases which helps them better understand the painful feelings, unstable minds, and unwanted thoughts clients goes through as a result of the traumatic experience. These tools are used by most therapists.

3. The training has help me with new skills which I use to help my clients with different cases in both individual and group counseling and the communities.

4. A workshop is organized for thirty participants which is going to be facilitated by Beate and her team from the 5th to the 7th of March 2012 to help therapists with new tools in working with clients with mental health problems. (Scroll down for pictures).

Action Plan

1 . I have written a proposal in which the objective is to open a Commit and ACT center in Bo, the second capital city of Sierra Leone. I am seeking funds to help facilitate the process.

2. To continue supporting other therapists through trainings, and to continue with individual and group sessions for both old and new clients.
 

Pictures from the March 2012 Sierra Leone ACT Workshop

^ ACBS Members, left to right: Beate Ebert, Hannah Bockarie, Ross White

^ ACT workshop participants complete the "Life Line" exercise together.

^ The group who participated in the Seirra Leone ACT Workshop March 5th-7th, 2012

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

My vision of life has changed.

As a Catholic priest, I use ACT in my sermons. Sometimes, instead of preaching, I use a mindfulness exercise related to the Word of God of the day. During some retreats, I preach about acceptance. Many people appreciate this.

Last year, on August 15th, 2011, I gathered fifty disabled people to give them food and drink, and to talk about acceptance. Many of them are frustrated, and therefore have become aggressive, smoke, or drink alcohol. Many journalists came to cover that event and presented it in radio, TV, and newspapers. Many people called to congratulate me.

Also, as chaplain of school, I coordinated with the Ministry of Education in the training of many teachers.

My project now is how to disseminate to francophone (French-speaking) countries. Because I’m a francophone working in Anglophone (English-speaking) country.

For me ACT-ACBS can be used to build Peace in the world.

Thanks to you.

Rev. Fr KICHE
 

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

The Parma Conference was a unique experience for me. I am a psychiatrist and CBT therapist. The ACBS community is so warm, energetic compared to our communities. At the Parma Conference I have reached what I could consider an intermediate level about ACT, metaphors and mindfulness techniques.

When I returned to Turkey I decided to study more on ACT and related topics. I have started to try to treat my patients from the ACT point of view. I see that creative hopelessness, in particular, is a very useful technique for resistant patients and it can be useful for CBT too. 

I have been working at a full time inpatient clinic for three months. With ACT techniques I’m helping my patients to accept and be mindful about their hallucinations and delusions without any response. I finished two of my client’s therapy with only ACT techniques. One is PTSD and the other one hypochondriasis. I realized that ACT provides motivation quickly for functional behavioral change.

I organized a half day workshop called “Three waves of Behaviorism” at the National psychiatry congress which was held on October 2011. It includes basic RFT principles and RFT views of psychopathology, too. At the same congress we organized a session about “new behavioral therapies” and I did a presentation called “What ACT brings to Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy?”

I am working at the biggest Psychiatry Hospital in Turkey. On December 2011, I did a presentation called “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A new behavioral model for psychopathology” at my hospital. At the same time I am teaching and reading together with my psychiatry residents about ACT at my inpatient clinic.

Nowadays I am working about meta-cognitions (rumination, avoidance, thought action fusion, etc.) and have some researches with these processes. Soon I will start to research for the reliability and validity of Turkish version of AAQ-2. I took permission from the authors. I think this will be an important experience for me. 

I am a founder member of a new association in Turkey called “Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies of Turkey”. I am responsible for the ACT unit of this association. I am planning to arrange workshops and trainings about ACT and RFT in midterm.

I am planning a two days workshop at a psychotherapy training center in Istanbul. The content will be about the history of behaviorism and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. With this workshop I want to constitute a basic level for further trainings.

This year there will be two psychiatry congresses in Turkey. I will suggest half or full day ACT workshops to congresses’ committees.
With my colleagues this year I am planning to start to translate one of the ACT books into Turkish.

It seems that my direction is on the ACT path at this point in my professional development...

K.Fatih Yavuz, MD
Psychiatrist
Bakirkoy Psychiatry Education and Research Hospital
Istanbul, Turkey
 

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Having attended WC10 has been a very fruitful experience for me because it was a great opportunity to train therapeutic skills in experiential ways. Much of my knowledge in contextual therapy has been self-taught and has a clear deficit in experiential training. Attending the conference was very useful for me in that sense. My current efforts are focused on the ability to convey this knowledge to colleagues in my country and for this purpose I have organized a study group without charge. We meet once every two weeks (for 3 hours) and we read papers, book chapters and watch videos, then we have very fruitful discussions to deepen our knowledge. It is a stable group that aspires to become a clinical team working consistently with behavior contextual sciences.

Attending to the conference has also allowed me to meet colleagues from different places around the world, with whom I keep in contact to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences.

Some of my actions committed to disseminating contextual behavioral science in my country were: paper presentations and workshops at various conferences in Argentina, such as Argentine Psychiatrists Association (APSA) in the city of Mar del Plata, Latin American Association Analysis and Behavior Modification (ALAMOC) in CABA, Buenos Aires and the American Association of Clinical and Health (APICSA) in the province of Cordoba (Argentina).

I've also been able to complete the first promotion course of Contextual Third Generation Therapies that I have organized and coordinated in Fundacion Foro (institution focused on promotion and research in mental health), where 13 professionals from various disciplines of mental health learned about theoretical and practical contents of ACT, FAP and Mindfulness. Another achieved goal for 2012 has been to organize Schoendorff Benjamin´s workshop during the month of October, also in the Fundacion Foro.

After establishing contact with colleagues in my country interested in contextual behavioral sciences I have organized a two-day workshop in the province of Cordoba, attended by 15 professionals who learned ACT and FAP principles in an experiential way with a very good response from the audience.

I am currently working with a colleague Dr. Fabian Olaz, (National University of Cordoba), in designing a research project that will begin soon. It was really valuable for me being able to attend the conference in Washington and I take this opportunity to thank again the support I have received from ACBS to make this possible.

- Juan Pablo Coletti, Argentina
 

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

By Chhori Laxmi Maharjan
FNC/Ankur Counseling Center

Chhori Maharjan is the senior counselor and program director for Friends of Needy Children, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing psychosocial therapy to disadvantaged children and young people of Nepal. Chhori and her team of psychologists at the Ankur Counseling Center provide counseling to adults and children in the Kathmandu area and the income generated through this counseling helps to fund free treatment for disadvantaged children, many of whom struggle with trauma, disability, and homelessness. Since 2006, Chhori’s group has provided training to over 700 mental health providers, including counselors, child care professionals, Buddhist monks, and women’s groups from all over Nepal. Here, Chorri describes what she has been up to since attending ACBS World Conference X.

I am thankful to the team of ACBS for providing me a chance to participate in the conference last year. It was my first exposure to the international expertise in contextual behavior science and ACT. Because of the scholarship from ACBS I got an additional chance to attend Sand play therapy as well as an exposure visit to Antioch group and Bradley University, where I started to share about ACT and its effectiveness. We discussed ACT with students, practicing psychologists, psychotherapists, sand play therapists, as well as some of administrative staff.

Being a beginner and an enthusiastic learner in ACT therapy, before starting orientation classes in Nepal, I referred ‘ACT made simple’, ‘Get Out of Your Mind and into Your Life for Teens’ and consultation with Dr.Louise along with my experiences. I organized orientation programs 2-3 hours long for staff members of my organization. 

Similarly, in the last six months, five orientation classes were organized for teachers, students of clinical and counseling psychology, students of Buddhism studies, private and government colleges, along with the only Mental Hospital in Nepal. Also, during world mental health day (October 10), I had a chance to share about ACT.

After my orientation session, students, teachers have been visiting Ankur counseling center seeking books on ACT, and they have provided positive feedback to Ankur. They have shown their keen interest to learn more, have trainings, and planning to apply for the upcoming world conference in Sydney. 

‘ACT Made Simple’, ‘I just want to be Me’, and ’Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life for Teens’ are commonly used books by the readers in Ankur library.

According to the need, I have been using some of the interventions effectively during counseling sessions such as diffusion, mindfulness, workability, mindfull movement, values base living, and more. 

I translated ‘Leaves on the Stream’ and am currently translating a values exercise for teens by Dr. Louise into Nepali language for easiness and for its effectiveness.

Publicly I gave two Radio Interviews and one talk program. 

Currently, I have prepared a training manual including ACT and its interventions as a major component. The training is named “Trauma counseling.” It lasts for five days, and is specially designed for volunteer peer counselors who have been rescued from servitude, and have had various traumatic past life experiences. 

In addition, I have been communicating with some of the professionals for their commitment to give training on ACT in Nepal. Dr.Louise, Tim and Sandra are planning to come this year.

Dr.Louise and Ankur team have been in Skype for clinical supervision monthly.

Lastly, I would like to state that the five days exposure to ACT is just an appetizer, so I need to learn and get trained on ACT more and more just like a full meal course. Hence, all of my colleagues and I are looking forward to get a floor of ACT with a thrust again and again.

- Chhori Laxmi Maharjan, Nepal
 

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Christian Vonjoe is a Senior Health Education Officer at the Health Education Division of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone. Christian’s program develops and disseminates educational initiatives and behavioral interventions that promote healthy behavior change at both the individual and community levels. Christian uses a contextual behavioral approach to develop culturally appropriate health messages that combat stigma, discrimination, and the persistence of inaccurate information about HIV, tuberculosis, reproductive health, and immunization. Christian also provides counseling to individuals with HIV and tuberculosis, emphasizing values and flexibility in their approach to managing their illness and engaging with their communities. To learn about his activities since ACBS World Conference X, read his report below.

REPORT ON ACBS ACTIVITIES IN SIERRA LEONE

INTRODUCTION
Knowledge and skills gained form the ACBS conference in Washington D.C. was disseminated through staff meeting with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and a one day orientation meeting held on the 25th September, 2012 with members from line ministries and a cross–section of university students. My presentation focused on the following concepts:

• Background information of ACBS and its objectives
• Promoting Behavior Change in Primary Health care
• Acceptance and values in Behavior Medicine
• ACT as a behavioral medicine to improve health- pain management and smoking cessation
• Promoting Healthy behavioral life choices
A one day orientation meeting was supported by the Directorate of Non communicable diseases in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone.

NEXT STEP
• A National Contextual Behavioral Science (NCBS) committee was formulated and has been identified by the ministry of health to collaborate with health partners to promote healthy behavioral lifestyle choices .
• The executive structure of the committee was developed.
• Committee meets monthly to discuss issues that required to be address through the use of CBS, RFT and ACT concepts.
• Coordination with the broad ACBS umbrella was highly suggested.
• Mobilize resource for the implementation of CBS activities.
• The committee wrote project proposal to promote healthy behavioral lifestyle choices in communities

ACHIEVEMENT
• Committee meets twice each month to identify issues required to be address and among them were: Unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol consumption.
• The committee is now a member of the national taskforce on non-communicable diseases in the Ministry of health and sanitation.
• The Health Education Programme in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation is a member of this committee and has now incorporated some CBS principles to heighten community awareness on health issues.
• The committee has written a project proposal to solicit support form NGO partners and to create awareness on healthy behavioral lifestyle choices ( physical exercise, healthy diet and the prevention and control of tobacco and alcohol in communities).
• So far we are awaiting feedback from our donor partners.

CONCLUSION
The committee noted the importance of securing e a technical support from ACBS and additional resources to effectively implement pending CBS projects. The committee also identified the need for additional training on CBS concepts to scale up behavioral interventions in the country.

Submitted by:
Christian Vonjoe
Senior Health Education Officer
Ministry of Health and Sanitation
Sierra Leone
  

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Time has flown since the Worldcon in July and so many things have been happening. I want to first thank everyone at ACBS for creating and supporting the opportunity for me to attend the conference and the training before. I would like to especially thank Chris Wemple and Suzan Stafford who made me feel so comfortable when hosting me so far from home, and giving me greater insight into life in DC.

The pre-conference workshop I attended was presented by Paul Gilbert and Dennis Tirch on Compassion Focused Therapy. I found the workshop very inspiring, and I began to apply what I had learned to my personal process and my work with individual clients immediately. In September, I used some of these principles and exercises in a facilitator training and a leadership camp for cultural diversity intelligence, called Umthombo Wesizwe (Spring of the Nation, see www.uwfund.org) near Cape Town. The facilitators were especially moved by the compassionate approach, and there was a lot of positive feedback about how this helped them to deepen their connection with themselves, others, and within the group.

Over the past 5 months I have been involved in a process of exploring a research topic relating to the process of transformation in South Africa. I find that I have been deeply affected by the work on shame that we explored with Paul Gilbert, and I am intending to follow in this line by exploring "white shame" and its consequences in terms of transformation in South Africa.

On the ACT front I continue to apply an ACT approach with many of my clients and I continue to grow in this work. I have also done an introductory presentation on ACT to a group of mental health professionals at the military hospital in Cape Town that I based on an introductory pamphlet that I compiled for distribution to health professionals. The pamphlet has been well received and I had some requests for more from interested General Practitioners.

I had made plans for an introductory workshop on ACT in November/December to be presented by an international ACT trainer, though due to time and communication constraints this did not happen.
I have subsequently come into contact with others that are also working with ACT, and have been asked to do another ACT presentation in a neighboring town in the near future.

Overall the opportunity to participate in the conference was a great inspiration to my work in various areas. I have had numerous conversations with people since that time discussing my experience and sharing the knowledge gained in D.C., and I continue to contemplate Worldcon X in Cape Town.

Thank you again to all of those that have supported this wonderful opportunity.

Regards,

Yoav Van der Heyden
Cape Town, South Africa
 

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Dear Association of Contextual Science,

Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to come to Australia and attend the 13th World Conference of ACBS. There is a number of good news to be reported here for ACT promotion and training in China.

In September 2013, we had held a small Salon inviting around 15 professionals (professors and psychologists), and we presented on both ACT and RFT for introduction. The attendees were excited in training, researching, and developing culturally adaptable techniques for ACT.

A larger forum for “Chinese culture and post-modern applied psychology” was held by the Key Laboratory of Mental Health and the Mental Health Promotion Center of our institute during early December 2013. This forum was for the promotion and development of post-modern psychological practices in China based on Chinese cultural backgrounds. In this event, Dr. Kenneth Fung from Canada joined us, and we provided a brief session on the core techniques and practices of ACT and its relationships to the wisdoms of Zen. Around 200 attendees come together from 20 universities and centers from America, Canada, Germany, Taiwan, and across China. The ACT session was well-received, and ACT practices may be applied in the vast public servant population in China.

Soon after, a three day elementary training program for the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy was provided from 27th to 29th of December by Dr. Yan Li and I. Yan had prior trainings in ACT and is based at the Counseling and Psychological Services center at Duke University. More than 50 people including lecturers, research staffs, clinical psychologists, and graduate students attended the event. The training was based on theories and activities to introduce the hexflex model. After the theoretical session, Yan lead the games of “the passengers”, “tug-of-war with difficulties”, “self-labeling”, several role play sessions and others. These games provided learners with deeper understandings and applications of each of the core processes in the ACT model.

We had also discussed with Professor Hayes for introducing the Boot Camp to China. Now, we have started the elementary package offered by Chinese ACT trainers, and a third training event will be held soon. These preparations as discussed were to create public awareness for the ACT therapy. Following from such local events, we would welcome International trainers to come to China for an intermediate package, and finally an advanced package by arranging Chinese audiences to come the US Boot Camp. We hope that this would progress well in the years to come.

Besides training, we never cease to introduce ACT to the wider Chinese audiences. For instance, we have continued to use microblogs and blogs to spread news on ACT. More importantly, the translation of the 2nd Edition of the ACT text is near completion. We make sure more professional guides on ACT will be appeared in the Chinese market in addition to the best sellers on the same topic. We express our gratitude for the hospitality of the ACBS team in giving us the opportunity to come to the 13th world conference and the careful arrangements during the conference. During the time of Chinese New Year, we wish you a happy Year of the Horse.

Yours sincerely,
Dr. Zhuohong Zhu
 

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Dear Association of Contextual Behavioral Science,

Being the recipient of the developing world scholarship of the 2013 Sydney world conference for contextual behavioral science, I hereby express my gratitude for this wonderful opportunity to learn, discuss, and share insights in the theory and practice of this burgeoning field. In the following, I will be happily present what we have accomplished in terms of the empirical researches of psychological flexibility carried out by myself and our team after the conference.

 In Chinese, we submitted two papers on the validations of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire 2nd Edition as well as the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire, both validation papers (entitled “Reliability and validity in a Chinese version of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire – 2nd Edition (AAQ-II) in college students” and “Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire”) have been accepted by the Chinese Mental Health Journal, and will be appeared in the upcoming printed journal soon. Together with the two earlier review papers on ACT and RFT, these papers would lay down the conceptual foundation for further theoretical and interventional researches in China.

Following the validation papers, we have further analyzed the associations between psychological flexibility measures (PS) and generalized psychological well-being scales. This included the relationships of PS with differential psychological symptoms (SCL-90-R) among college students, together with post traumatic stress (PCL-C) and post traumatic growth (PTGI) among college student earlier influenced by the Wenchuan Earthquake. Our results showed that PS is a good predictor for psychological well-being, and these two papers have both submitted for review (entitled “Psychological flexibility model in predicting post-traumatic stresses and growth” and “Psychological flexibility as a predictor for levels of psychological distress and gender differences in its predictability among college students”).

I personally have completed a paper on the reliability, construct and incremental validity of the AAQ-II questionnaire in English. The paper after slight amendments will be submitted to the Journal of Behavioral Therapy, following Dr. Frank Bond’s original paper on the development of the AAQ-II questionnaire. The paper has been read by Professor Steven Hayes, and he considered the incremental validity studies were important conceptually, and encouraged us to take part in longitudinal studies for the predictive roles of psychological flexibility in future.

Moreover, we have completed a study among 40 college students on the associations between psychological flexibility and cognitive flexibility based on a computerized modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, our preliminary results suggested that cognitive flexibility are not as context specific, thus were more associated with the concept of present moment awareness. This study will be prepared into a manuscript in the near future.

Unfortunately, our paper on a microblogged suicide case “Zou-Fan” was not accepted into the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science due to its qualitative nature. We consider the paper not as a rigorous empirical research but a mixed policy article. Although the paper may not be readily accepted as agreed by most of our team, we believe that this endeavor in assessing a real life case would shed many insights to the new field of data mining and computer aided assistance, which is going to be more and more based on a pragmatic contextual philosophy.

These are the little “milestones” we have accomplished after last year’s world conference on contextual behavioral science. I hoped that we can produce more empirical researches of contextual behavioral science. Again, thank you for providing me the precious opportunity to come to UNSW in Sydney, and we wish the ACBS to have an ever more fruitful year in 2014.

Yours sincerely,
Yang Ji
 

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

On the next weeks after coming back to Peru, I made a call to begin with meetings around discussing and providing some guidance to a formal study and practice at different levels of CBS, all for free. The middle-term goal linked to this was the one of stablishing a regional chapter, which would be the Peruvian Chapter of the ACBS. I was not alone on this, since Silvia Melgar, another CBS folk, has been working with me. This meant the born of the CBS Peruvian Community and since the first session we had discussed scientific articles around functional contextualism, RFT and more applied issues related to ACT. Our community also has worked through a virtual space where the members share CBS literature and where I share specific readings that could help in this first stage of the CBS dissemination in a more formal way (as long as we are following a route that beging on the philosophical level of analysis and its connection with more applied issues that constitutes the technological level). Some time of other sessions were dedicated to questions and answers. But what I think is the most exciting part of it is that our CBS Peruvian community has born with a strong orientation not only on dissemination activities (as it could be the case of a study group) but on practicing all that CBS can provide as a way of contributing to the history of human evolution, to say, for example, sharing certain values that create the context for the occurrence and manteinance of flexible repertoires across its members, in terms of how we relate each other (kindly, with good sense of humor, etc.) and with our society (i.e. curiosity about the needs of our regional context, so we can plan some intervention according to them). So our community is not just a mere academic group but I hope it could achieve the goal of being useful for our context and, in certain way, to contribute to evolution of humanity using CBS. This is the soul of this community, or at least, I'll work with Silvia to make it work in that way. I truly believe that we can do this by giving just little steps momment to momment. Besides this CBS community, another important activity that took place in the last months was the ACT workshop that I leaded on November about ACT since an RFT perspective where a group of participants could get a closer contact with the power of using behavior analysis since a functional contextual point of view in the direction of alleviating human suffering. Finally some of the sessions of the community have also been dedicated to discuss about the benefits and requirements to become a formal ACBS chapter. Until now we got and sent all the signatures required, which meant at least 10 new members from Peru in the ACBS. A good number that calls for happiness and good expectations, considering that we are, as I usually say, so far from the places where things happen. Now I'm just preparing the by-laws to send it to the ACBS so our community could become formally a chapter, which I think is a more practical way to get involved, interested and committed with the whole community around the world. My second attendance to the Conference was determinant on giving these steps which I hope can be the beginning of a more active role of the Peruvian folks in the world community.

- Manuel Garayar, Peru

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

I would like to thank all those who made it possible for me to have the opportunity to attend Worldcon in Minneapolis. Although I have managed to attend before and have been practising ACT for sometime, my relocation to South Africa and the accompanying financial constraints would have made attendance at this particular Worldcon impossible; yet I felt that precisely because of my relocation it was imperative to attend to focus on what can be done in South Africa to disseminate ACT.
During the buildup to Worldcon I had the privilege of meeting Bertus Swanepoel in an introduction to ACT workshop that I facilitated over a few days in my hometown. He lives in Gauteng and specifically in the most densely populated area in South Africa, where he can have the greatest influence in the mental health professional community. I will leave it to him to tell you of the great work he has been doing there.

I live in a very small town which also happens to have the most diverse population group – from the very rich, multiple home-owner holiday-makers and retirees to the very poorest unemployed and homeless. I have chosen to focus on the latter, although in my private practice I have had the opportunity to promote ACT within the local medical community: for example with report back especially with chronic pain patients.

In my work within the poor community, I am developing a protocol that I hope to be able to provide a simple model for dissemination amongst the disadvantaged and sometimes illiterate communities. Some years ago I studied the success rates of ‘foreign’ models that are brought into Africa by both religious and secular groups and discovered a high rate of failure. This was mainly due to a lack of consideration of the structures already in place, mainly leadership structures and ‘natural’ sources of healing. These are often older members of the society who, in contrast to some other societies, gain respect and reverential treatment as they age; also some influential younger persons who are considered to have ‘special’ powers who may, or may not agree to consider what is being offered.

As a result of my previous studies I decided to become a ‘participant observer’ and to this end have been part of a group of about 30-40 people in a church in the poorest area, and have been attending their meetings for three years now. I am accepted by most now, and sometimes (increasingly) asked to speak. I have identified the natural leaders and done two one-day workshops with them this year, and another two with any members of the community who care to attend. These were well attended, and the idea of willingness has been very well received. The cycle of poverty requires a great deal of stoic endurance for some, and especially for most of this group who are economic refugees (and some political). Families and support systems are often far away, and it has been a privilege to watch the transformation from stoicism to willingness as values have been brought into the picture.
The wonderful work in Sierra Leone has inspired me to prepare the ground here should we ever have to tackle that epidemic. The practice of handling, kissing and being present with the dead during lengthy repatriation is similar to Sierra Leone. It is, however, topical as we already have an epidemic of note, namely HIV. As this is mainly a church group, although others are attracted to come and listen by the great drumming and singing (!), it has been a welcome relief, I believe, to be introduced to a view that is based on compassion and yet moving towards health, as opposed to rules and judgement. The discussion of sex or anything approaching such a discussion is taboo in this community and a very delicate issue as I am a ‘foreigner’ but we get around this also with careful wording around values.

We had some wonderful discussions at Worldcon around different possibilities for dissemination and we are trying them out. We came home to the advent of spring, summer, holidays and end of year exams and deadlines and so it has been a different dynamic from what would be experienced in the northern hemisphere. I am confident that early 2015 will provide more opportunities for professional workshops and other opportunities as people will be more focussed on work and less distracted by immediate necessities.
Thank you to Jenn Gregg for her continued help in getting my training videos ‘up to speed’ so that I can finally hand in my portfolio to apply for peer recognition as a trainer. This will go a long way toward establishing my credibility in the professional arena in South Africa – and also toward providing videos that can be used in our sprawling and transport challenged count.

Ingrid Ord, South Africa
 

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Report on Dissemination Activities in South-Africa

I would firstly like to thank ACBS for their kind gesture to provide me with complimentary conference and pre-conference registration. It made it possible to attend as our currency isn't very strong against the dollar. I also appreciated the the lunch/dinner escorts with whom we could converse and learn from.

It was a privilege to meet people and attend sessions where theory and what I have read in books became alive in practical illustrations and discussions.
It was surely the beginning of a long term relationship with the ACBS.

Since being at the conference my Private Practice has been booming. I think it is a combination of being more mindful in sessions as well as having a better functional contextual understanding of behaviour. My best month was in September 2014 where I had 80 sessions for the month.

I have had the privilege to share the Matrix with two grade groups (15 and 16 year olds) and the staff at a High School in my community with great feedback. The school management and I are currently integrating the values of the school into behavioural outcomes and it seems to make the values more real to the children and the staff.

I also had several meetings with a representative of the Sereti Institue who does community projects like Violence and crime prevention as well as Football for youth.
We were at a stage where the involvement of PROSOCIAL was considered with possible meetings with a University to come on board, but unfortunately the person from the Sereti Institute had to deal with personal issues and the discussions were halted up until now.
He has contacted me a few weeks ago and told me that we must meet in the new year. Hopefully I can convince him to engage with PROSOCIAL but will ask for some guidance from PROSOCIAL if it comes to that.

I must admit that I was very excited about the above-mentioned possibilities and disappointed at the same time that nothing has happened yet, but I am learning to be patient.

I also networked with a few CPD (continuous professional development) forums and I have been given the opportunity to introduce ACT in January 2015 at two different forums. I also want to use these opportunities to invite interested persons to an ACT workshop which Ingrid Ord and I are planning to have in the Johannesburg area in March 2015.

Ingrid and I keep in contact on a regular basis and and although she is 1000 km away, it is nice to have someone knowledgeable in South-Africa to brainstorm with.

Hopefully we can bring new faces with us to Berlin next year.

Kind Regards

Bertus Swanepoel

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Greetings from Malaysia!

I can still feel the excitement while writing this dissemination report seven months after attending the ACBS World Conference 13 in Berlin. It was my first international conference, and this was made possible because of ACBS Developing Nation Scholarship. I am very grateful for the learning opportunity and am committed to share my learning back in my home country. This dissemination report will briefly describe my initial dissemination activities thus far and the future plans.

In contrast to learning from written materials, the six days conference has provided me with great conceptual and experiential learning on ACT, adding valuable amount of my repertoire on the application of the psychological flexibility processes. With the effective training method, the two days preconference workshops on ACT skill building by Steven Hayes has especially given me a good balanced of theoretical and practical input on ACT. During the conference, I attended workshops in accordance to my interest in young people and chronic pain, trying to gain as much as I can within the six days.

After returning to Malaysia, I started utilizing ACT modality with greater confidence in my private practice with individuals with mental disorders. For group work, I have also started to facilitate the participants' psychological flexibility to increase their work functioning while conducting a Return to Work program. In my work at pain clinic Hospital Kuala Lumpur, I have started to incorporate ACT approach to guild patients to manage chronic pain.

In addition to some informal sharing with my colleagues in Malaysia, I have organized a workshop on managing exam anxiety with ACT for students in Methodist College Kuala Lumpur in October 2015. In February 2016, I will be facilitating another ACT workshop on increasing psychological flexibility for special needs children in the Special Education Network in Asia Conference (SENIA).

For prospective plans, after securing a good funding, I will start my doctorate study on the area of ACT for young people with pain condition under Dr Lance McCracken. I am also looking for opportunities to observe ACT chronic pain group program, as I wish to implement one in the pain clinic that I am working in. Besides that, I plan to equip myself on the use of ACT on young children by attending workshops by Louise Hayes. Lastly, my longterm goal is to become a peer review trainer and share this wonderful approach and community to my fellow colleagues in Malaysia.

Thank you, ACBS!

With gratefulness,
Lee Sook Huey
Clinical Psychologist, Malaysia

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Report to ACBS on using ACT to train Lay Counselors in Afghanistan

Reported by Norman Gustavson, Phd

Feb. 17, 2016

First, thank you for your support and the ongoing work of ACBS

"Lay counseling" is a very new concept in Afghan communities attempting to deal with a vulnerable population dealing with many physical/structural demands and psychosocial issues.  In this project, in spite of the expected challenges, the volunteers who were trained were very determined in their community outreach and very enthusiastic about the tools that they acquired in the PARSA trainings.  This project demonstrated that the foundational work done this year has created the possibility of a healthy and effective community response to mental health issues. Methodology adapted from cognitive behavior therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) by Dr. Gustavson and Dr. Sabour proved effective in reaching clients in vulnerable communities.

During this period, three workshops on awareness of psychosocial problems and three trainings on “Introduction to Counseling Skills” were designed, developed and implemented in Kabul, Kandahar and Nangarhar provinces.

In the workshops on “Introduction to Counseling Skills” 53 people were certified as “Village Psychosocial Counselors” (VPSC) to provide counseling to clients in internal refugee camps in these three provinces on a volunteer basis.

These 53 VPSCs reached 793 people utilizing their "lay counseling" skills.

The first awareness workshop was held in Kabul in February 2015 for five days for 16 staff from WarChild-Canada (WCC). 

The second MH awarness training for staff of the WCC contract provider, “Organnization for Human Welfare” (OHW) in February for 17 participants, male and female staff of OHW.

The third staff development-awareness of MH issues workshop was conducted in Kandahar in April for staff of (OHW) with 17 staff participants.

The first trainings for Village Psychosocial Counselors (VSPC)was conducted in in April in Kabul’s Charahe Qambar “Internally Displace Persons” (IDP) refugee camp.

The second and third trainings for VPSCs were conducted in June in Kandahar and Jalalabad.  The training method included several hours of practical exercise from actual case studies as well as simplified case vignettes from the trainer’s clinics and International Assistance Mission (IAM) mental health clinic materials.

Methods:

Observing, listening without judging is a basic counseling skill that crosses many counseling methodologies as does “active listening” and form a basis for PARSA’s work.  What we have added are principles form Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT), an evidence based program of training and therapy.  ACT does not focus on diagnosis but on the concerns of the client and helping the client to discover unworkable avoidance patterns that tend keep the client “stuck” in a “vicious cycle” that attempts to avoid painful, distressing feelings but that actually tend to keep the client focused on the painful emotions.  The focus of ACT is to foster acceptance of distress as it is while building on the clients stated (and elaborated values, i.e., who and what are truly important to the client.  The client is assisted to formulating behaviors they can take on that support these values.  Acceptance plus increases in valued behavior aid the client in improved functioning, i.e., living a more productive and valued life.  In this way an overview of psychosocial problems was developed for trainees without needing to go into great detail about psychopathology and diagnosis.  The orientation of counseling is pragmatic.

The model used to help trainees understand how clients get stuck in problematic patterns of behavior or “suffering” with negative emotions was drawn from the ACT approach known as “The Matrix” (“the ACT Matrix”, Edited by Kevin Polk, PhD and Benjamin Schoenhorff, MA, 2014, New Harbinger Publications, Inc.).

The Matrix was used to develop both a way of conceptualizing a clients issues; a focus on recognizing things that trigger problem behavioral reactions or emotions and a path for finding more productive behaviors while learning to accept negative feelings as they come up without getting fixated on them.  The basic approach has counselors help clients list what and who is really valuable to the client and then use these values to develop positive actions toward personal goals instead of getting caught in behaviors or feelings they have learned in an attempt to avoid unwanted feelings and reactions.  For example actions to engage in social activity that is valued, like doing things with friends and family instead of trying to avoid negative feelings by self-isolating, drug use or other escape behaviors.

Outcomes:

The success of this program is quantifiable and exceeded our expectations. Using 53 volunteers at a low level of education trained to be Village Psychosocial Counselors (VPSC's), PARSA has documented an outreach to 793 beneficiaries in IDP camps in Kabul, Kandahar, and Nangarhar by the completion of the first year program.

In Kabul the training started in two separate locations for male and female groups and was conducted for 10 women and 12 men.

The VPSC workshop in Kandahar was conducted May 30th through June 5th for 11 females, and in a concurrent but separate workshop during the same dates for 14 males.

In Jalalabad the VPSC workshop was conducted from June 13th through the 17th in concurrent groups for 16 females and 17 males.  The trainees were a group of men and women from districts where IDPs were living (Daman District).

In addition to traditional training components for lay counselors like “active listening” and taking a nonjudgmental stance in relation to the client with whom the counselor is working, the ACT Matrix was used to help the VPSCs to listen for and share with clients the experiential avoidance patters that clients revealed as their issues or “struggles”.  A (I believe) new exercise was also developed (shown in our Poster) called “this is not a tree”.  Here participants were asked to recall an early image of “tree” as they learned to associate the word with objects in their environment and then to draw their personal image of “tree”.  The next step was for them to add to the drawing an early experience associated with their “tree” (to other things and actions in the larger “frame” of their tree.  After sharing their tree and related story/frame the ‘take away’ from the exercise was for the trainees to see that no ones “tree” and framework is any better than anyone else’s.  no ones tree is more or less valid than any other person’s.  All points of view are valid.  This work supported other exercises to build a nonjudgmental stance in relation to their clients.  The exercise also helped to reinforce the idea of observing and giving feedback to clients on patterns of avoidance and behaviors that move toward who and what is important without advise giving, i.e., helping clients discover and sort out unworkable patterns of behavior from moves toward their stated values.

The matrix exercise was done with individuals creating their own matrix using pictures to past into the four quadrants of the matrix.  This was a very success process based on presentations each participant made to describe their own matrix of values, internal (mental) thoughts and feelings, actions to avoid these feelings (stuck places) and new behaviors to move toward values to enrich their lives.

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

My name is Mario Maricic, and I have been awarded a scholarship for Developing Nations ACBS World Conference in Berlin 2015. It`s been a long time since I was in Berlin and enthusiasm I felt there is somewhat present here. Beautiful people and World Class teachers. For me, it was as I have been to the Moon.

I would like to reflect on activities that my colleagues and I have done after WC13. Over the past ten months, a lot of things was going on. For the first time, I was part of the ACT training in Serbia, as a workshop co-facilitator with my mentor and teacher Igor Krnetic, Ph.D.

Since Berlin, ACT is what I'm practicing and learning with the clients and colleagues I see daily, although I was practicing ACT for and with myself for years.
In December of 2014, my professor and I had created and started an Association for promoting and developing psychotherapeutic practice and science "Center for Mindfulness". Under that roof, we have begun with Student counseling services in October 2015. Students from the University of Banjaluka (Bosnia&Herzegowina) now can get counseling and can get into psychological treatment based on 3rd wave behavioral therapies free of charge. We have started continuous peer support and supervision in Center for Mindfulness, for therapists who work with the students.
(see our Facebook page)

Also, we had started group activities with the goal to promote, create and practice living meaningful lives. We had started a pilot project named "Practicing, developing and building meaningful lives". This group offers support for psychotherapists and non-psychologists in the area. We all learn and practice to respond to others needs with authentic courage and love and spread and share those experiences with our families, friends, clients, etc. We had used an online app to organize these activities (see link http://www.meetup.com/Banja-Luka-Mindfulnes-Meetup/)

In the March 2016., we had organized an event for promoting mental health in the local community "Days of mental health in local community - Banja Luka". We had five days of different events with the focus on creating peer support groups in the local community, and with a particular interest in persons with psychotic experience, and hearing voices.

I would like to thank all of you who made it possible for me to attend ACBS world conference in Berlin. Thank you all who made some effort and support people like me, and countries like mine. I would like to say thanks personally to a big-hearted Kristin Marjalla from Norway who financially supports me even these days, months after the World Conference 13 and who is investing in my personal and professional future. I want to say thanks to Dr. Igor Krnetic, my mentor, who is supportive beyond limits, warm and kind person who puts his efforts and made it possible for me and my colleagues to contribute to our local community and make a change. They both are investing in the future of my family, my friends, clients that I live and work with, investing into my colleagues trough me. Thank you! I could never say or do anything to match gratefulness I experience. Thank you all!

With kindness and love, Mario Maricic.

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

ACCEPTANCE & COMMITMENT THERAPY IN UGANDA: 12 MONTHS ON
Time has flown since the Worldcon in July last year and so many things have been happening. I want to first thank everyone at ACBS for creating and supporting the opportunity for me to attend the conference in Berlin. I would like to especially thank Ross White, Jennifer Gregg, and everyone else who made me feel so comfortable when hosting me while so far from home, and giving me greater insight into life in Berlin. I have to say that I felt so welcome and supported all throughout my stay in Berlin. Thanks too, to Courtney and the rest of the organizers.

The pre-conference workshop I attended was presented by Steve Hayes on Advanced ACT. I personally found the workshop to be very enriching and inspiring, and I began to apply what I had learned to my personal process and my work with individual clients immediately. The workshop offered me an opportunity to experience ACT as an individual which gave me confidence to use it further. It’s now my first choice in my private practice. I have got to say that most clients here in Uganda also respond well to ACT.

I personally receive supervision from Ingrid who is based in Cape Town, South Africa. This has offered me an invaluable opportunity to have someone guide me through my case whenever I get stuck but also, just to have another person guiding me while I take on ACT. She has been extremely supportive and understanding because some times power or internet do not enable us to start on time but she is always willing to attend to me whenever I need her. She has been so supportive that it made my work seem so worth it. I had an opportunity to take on Matthew’s online course which runs for a year but the internet and the very busy schedule couldn’t allow me to complete. I still feel awful about not completing it but, I guess sometimes things like that happen.

In November last year we had a visitor from Bosnia (Igor) who visited Uganda for two weeks and offered ACT training workshops to over 40 students of psychology. These students were from three different programs including the Masters of Arts in Counseling (12 students), Masters of Science in Clinical Psychology (25), and Post-Graduate Diploma in Counseling Psychology (3). Some of these students had already benefitted from an Introductory course from Ross White who had visited Uganda the previous year. The coming of Igor boosted the students’ motivation and passion for ACT. In fact, most of them are continuing to use ACT as their major approach during psychotherapy. In December last year we had a visitor from UK (Taslim) who also conducted a half day workshop on ACT to over 60 students of psychology. This was a very interesting group of students (partly because more than 15 students were from the organizational psychology department).

I have also done an introductory presentation on ACT to a group of mental health professionals including a Clinical Psychologist who works with African Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (ACTV), and another School Psychologist who works with two International Secondary Schools here in Uganda. These mental health workers continue to use ACT in their day to day work are part of the team forming the Uganda Chapter.

Makerere University has now officially embraced ACT and I am receiving support to continue offering short courses and supervision to students on all post-graduate psychology programs. I continue to look for volunteers who are willing to come and offer support. In fact, as I speak with have someone from Denmark (Anne Anderson) who is going to be with the students for a month just to part of an ACT workshop series that will be running at Makerere University from the 19th of July until the 19th of August. This is very encouraging.
We are also expecting Joe Oliver to come over to Uganda some times in December. This will surely benefit the first years who are coming in this August. I hope that Joe Oliver will be keen on meeting a group of mental health workers who also are thirsty for more trainings. These attended Dr, Ross White’s introductory course but have since then not got so much attention. I also continue to coordinate the nurse’s stress reduction program using ACT. Cerdic Hall is supporting that program and both of us continue to work together.
There’s a very good opportunity for ACT to continue growing but sometimes both time and money remain a constraint.

Thank you again to all of those that have supported this wonderful opportunity.

Regards,
Rosco Kasujja
Kampala, Uganda.

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Time has gone and it only seems like yesterday when the ACBS World Conference in Seville, Spain happened. I work at the School of Psychology, Makerere University and I am engaged in therapy as well as a Counseling Psychologist.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members that tirelessly engaged in supporting me to participate in the World Conference in June 2017. I would like to specifically appreciate Courtney and Laura for the great communication links that I managed to reach safely in a new land and continent. I would like to thank Dr. Ross White, Dr. Joe Oliver, Dr. Rosco Kasujja for the contact, believing in me and initiation process. Grateful to Louis Hayes, Tom Szabo, Jennifer, and Beate and the whole Commit and Act family for support during the conference.

I attended the two-day Pre-conference workshop that is Process-based ACT by Steven Hayes. The Intermediate sessions were helpful in grounding different processes of the ACT model especially the use of different exercises, case formulation and suggesting alternative exercises in session. The workshop had an experiential approach and different participants had an opportunity to share experiences with different clients and the role plays were helpful. I have been able to incorporate the learning from this workshop in my work with clients and in training other therapists.

Over the past six months, I have been engaged in individual and group therapy as well as ACT trainings.

• I was involved in organizing an ACT Introductory training for University students from 4th-5th July 2017. A number of them were hearing about ACT for the first time but picked interest and are engaged in further learning of the ACT model.
• In September 2017, I engaged in further learning by doing an on-line course called ACT for Anxiety and Depression with Dr. Russ Harris. It was insightful in how to work with anxious and depressed clients on their journey to coping and recovery.
• On 19th Nov 2017, I organized members of the Uganda Council of Psychologists for a session with Prof. Sath Cooper from South Africa. I had the privilege of introducing the other psychologists in attendance to the ACT model as well as inviting them to ACT trainings.
• I also engaged in the Uganda Counselling Association Conference and invited members to learn how to use ACT with clients by attending the training workshops.
• From October to November 2017, I planned community service sessions with 2nd and 3rd year university students to focus on the substance use challenges in Bukesa parish and Kikoni village (these are slums around the University). They had sessions in the schools and communities and used the ACT model to have sessions with different members and groups.
• From 21st-22nd December 2017, I facilitated a Prosocial training in Butabika hospital for Service Users organized under Peer Nation based at the Recovery College. I did this training with Dr. Rosco Kasujja and Mr. Wamala Kizito.
• I am continually engaged with Strong minds and Virtuous Women teams; training them how to engage with the ACT model in their personal experiences as well as for their clients.
• In December 2017, I participated in a Camp of over 600 youths and used the ACT model while I engaged in the session about Relationships in Adolescence.
• In February 2018, we organized an ACT Introductory Training for 2nd and 3rd years as well as Masters students. It had an attendance of 72 participants and the response to the use of the model was positive. We plan to follow them up to do an intermediary training and grow though supervision.
• I am currently engaged with Research processes to use the ACT model for my PhD studies.
• I have continually used the ACT model for sessions with my clients both in individual and group sessions.

More to that, the ACBS Developing Nations Committee is engaging many stakeholders like students, NGOS, banks, practitioners, Academia so that we offer them Introductory ACT workshops. We also are on the look out to partner with other members in the ACBS community to come and give advanced courses. The undergraduate and master’s classes are being introduced to the ACT model and ACBS work.

Generally, getting engaged with the ACBS community is a joy indescribable and I am growing as a professional through all the available resources. Conference attendance was a great privilege and inspiration in various areas of my work. I am also engaging members of the ACT community on how to take the ACT work further in Uganda especially with the ACBS Developing Nations Committee. We are growing the ACT community and supporting each other in the work we are involved with.

Lastly, thank you again for generously supporting me to have this grand opportunity to attend the ACBS World Conference.
Best Regards,
Racheal D. Nuwagaba-K

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Fresia Hernandez, Mexico

Thanks to the support of the Developing Nations Chapter-Committee Scholarship, for which I was one of the winners of the scholarship to attend the ACBS World Conference Montreal 2018, I had the opportunity to attend and could not explain how fortunate I felt during all the days of the conference.

First, I want to thank Courtney Zirkle, Abbie Lanning, Emily N. Rodrigues and all ACBS staff who supported me before the day of the conference, as well as Roscoe Kasujja and the Developing Nations Chapter committee, for selecting me as winner of the scholarship.

At the pre-conference I attended, I was able to learn about ACT assessment with Kelly G. Wilson, it was a great experience, and I was able to learn many things that have contributed to the improvement of my private practice and as a psychology teacher.

On the second day of pre-conference, I presented a poster with research results in ACT that I made with the help of students, in my country. It was also a great experience to be able to share my work with other colleagues from all over the world.

I also had the opportunity to meet during the conference with Steven C. Hayes, Kelly G. Wilson, Robyn D. Walser and Emily Sandoz, all of them incredible people who shared their valuable time with me and I hope later they can visit my country and share with us their knowledge. It really was a dream come true!

When I returned to my country, Mexico, I was able to apply immediately the knowledge acquired with a group of undergraduate students in clinical and health psychology, to whom I gave an introduction in ACT, so that they would know this approach and fall in love with this wonderful processes-based therapy. I have to mention that my students have been very interested in continuing to learn about ACT. With this group I also shared the videos with messages that kindly allowed me to record Steven C. Hayes and Kelly G. Wilson, so they would know how great and friendly they are and be able to bring them closer to the third-generation therapies, from the invitation of these two great leaders.

In the month of September, I gave a workshop to 150 students, in groups of 25 on the management of stress using ACT, this as part of the comprehensive training of students of all careers in an activity called "Health Challenge". In the month of October, I gave a workshop on psychological flexibility and anxiety in the week of mental health organized at my university. In the month of November, I gave the stress management workshop through ACT for high school students interested in studying psychology.

In December, I shared an ACT induction with my students in the chronic and terminal patient psychology course on how to apply this therapy in people with chronic diseases.

In addition, as a clinical supervisor I began to guide my students and provide them with tools for the implementation of ACT in the attention to clients of the Academic Center of Attention in Integral Wellbeing, in which psychological counseling is provided to people from a low-income community.

I am currently in talks with my superiors to offer ACT training to our teachers and students with national and international speakers, and to be able to host ACT training in our region.

Undoubtedly, my country needs a lot of diffusion and training in third-generation psychological therapies, and I extend my commitment and interest in continuing to train and dissemination.

I'm really grateful for this opportunity to get closer to the ACBS community, they really are a very friendly association committed to scientific psychology for the relief of human suffering. I fell in love!

Thank you very much for your support to attend the 16 ACBS World Conference Montreal, 2018, I’m see you at Dublin 2019.

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Kizito Wamala, Uganda

At the conference

I was a scholarship winner; I was fully facilitated by ACBS to participate in the WC16. I arrived at the conference venue, the Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth, on 23rd July 2018. I participated in very educative and skills-building pre-conference workshops that were conducted for two full days – 24th and 25th July. I participated also in the conference symposia and trainings on 26th to 29th during which I also presented a poster on my work in Uganda – a copy was submitted to the organizing contact. At the conference, I benefitted beyond my expectation. I learnt so many new things from experiences of great ACBS experts for example meeting with Steven Hayes, Kelley Wilson, Robyn D Walser; research findings; experiences in practice and research of many presenters and facilitators; met new people for professional and personal friends; and received a Certificate of Participation in the Continuing Education Activity of ACBS World Conference 16.

Post-Conference

On return to Uganda, I engaged myself in four main activities:
1. Promotion of ACT theory and therapy among practicing counselors. I started with compiling materials, especially for training counselors and psychologists in the North of Uganda. I was able to convince my line manager to include 8 hours of training on Introduction to ACT in my organisational clinical capacity building training program. That program was and still is a 300-hours training in counseling theoretical approaches and skills plus 45-hours of clinical supervision spread over a period of 11 months per year. Participants in the program are counselors and psychologists working with different organisations and institutions where their main job is offering counseling to organisational clients. On 2nd October 2018, I was able to conduct the first 8-hour training on Introduction to ACT with thirteen (17) trainees plus my line manager and a psychotherapist/ trainer of The center for Victims of Torture (CVT). Thereafter, the psychotherapist/trainer recommended that the staff of my organisation – CVT – also receive the same training. On 15th October 2018, I conducted the same 8-hour training with seven (7) CVT staff. The feedback given by participants of both trainings was very positive. All the participants acknowledged that ACT was a new concept, process and approach of counseling for them and that they needed more hours of theoretical input, practice and supervision in order ground their skills in using ACT for themselves and for their clients. I have already scheduled to conduct the same ACT training in October 2019 with 19 trainees who have enrolled for our clinical capacity building.
2. Consistent use of ACT in my work with my clients. CVT as an organisation doesn’t subscribe to ACT as the organisational therapeutic approach but neither does it prevent its staff from using ACT as a personally preferred approach in individual counseling. I therefore decided to use ACT consistently in my individual sessions and I am witness to the positive feedback that I frequently receive from my clients relating to their experiences in ACT. I feel very satisfied with that feedback and I am committed to continuing with ACT as my first line therapeutic approach.
3. I consistently facilitate mindfulness exercises with my organisational clinical team at both individual and group supervision sessions that I conduct every week. This has been our practice since September 2018. I feel happy and proud to report that my team enjoys the exercises because, they say, those exercises bring each one to the present moment enabling them to experience life as it is. All my six team members (my supervisees) have reported back to me that since we started the practices in mindfulness, their lives have greatly changed. They struggle less with both past and future bothers and life is more livable than before in terms of both personal private lives and life at work.
4. And at the moment, I am personally writing my PhD project aiming at carrying out a randomised controlled clinical trial using ACT for treatment of Trauma in Uganda. Having used ACT consistently for the last six or so months, I find its efficacy promising for my context in Uganda. I therefore think that engaging myself in validating it with evidence will be a great contribution to ACBS and the evidence-base of therapeutic approaches in developing nations, especially Sub-Saharan Africa. This points to a great hope for ACBS’ future here in the developing world.

Challenges

1. Working in the north of Uganda, far away from Kampala, has disabled me from participating in peer supervision sessions with my colleagues of the ACT special-interest group that was initiated by Dr. Kasujja Rosco. I am very grateful however that whenever I meet clinical challenges related to my use of ACT, Dr. Kasujja Rosco makes efforts to avail himself to me. He is very supportive and very generous with time, reading and visual materials.
2. My new contract with my organisation has barred me from lecturing for universities. I have therefore lost the opportunity of introducing ACT at Bugema University.
3. This report has no pictures because my organisation protects its clients and stakeholders’ confidentiality very strictly and I believe that it’s okay. Therefore, you cannot see any pictorials which sometimes say more about the report narratives of activities.

Conclusion

The scholarship I received from the ACBS was a great honor and opportunity for me to participate in such a high caliber professional world conference in Montréal in 2018. The benefits of my participation are and will remain innumerable for me personally and for my country and beyond. I commend ACBS for their decision and effort to facilitate some interested professionals, to such conferences, who cannot afford on their own. It is one of the many ways ACBS is supporting the promotion of quality evidence-based mental health practices in the developing world and the world-over. Thank you so much ACBS.

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Dario Lipovac - Bosnia/Herzegovina

Hi, I am Dario Lipovac, Psychologist M.A., Cognitive – Behavioral Therapist (CBT) and ACT Therapist (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a small beautiful country located on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe.

Being a young Psychologist working with deprived, vulnerable and marginalized children and families, back in the 2011, I made a decision to attend an ACT experiential workshop and explore what is it all about, as I wanted to upgrade my skills and find some philosophy of life close to my values. The workshop was organized by Igor Krnetić, PhD, a mentor and colleague, who inspired a small group of psychologists to go deeper into ACT. That is how my ACT journey began, and how my shift towards values-based life started! Thank you Igor!

Speeding up to 2019, after some years of dynamic changes in the journey we’re calling life, I have found myself (now humanitarian worker, and CBT and ACT therapist) applying for the Developing Nations Fund Scholarship to attend WC17 in Dublin for the first time in my life. It seemed impossible to get this award, but I was thinking: Why not give it a try? The moment I have received a feedback I was selected as one of the Developing Nations Scholars for WC17 was one of those moments of joy and a feeling that something close to your heart is unfolding!

Of course, before my journey to Dublin I booked all workshops in the WC17 program that I could! I booked the pre-conference workshop “ACT Made Simple: A Quick Start Guide to ACT Basics and Beyond” facilitated by one and only Russ Harris. I enjoyed these 2 days with full attention to learn, experience and share as much as I could! I wanted to learn how to make ACT simple and easy to digest by my clients, colleagues and by myself, and I wanted to network with as many people as possible. Russ Harris and this workshop exceeded my expectations completely! Thanks Russ for showing me how to deliver ACT in a simple but very powerful manner, and for your openness to share knowledge and support.

WC17 continued with the program, where I booked workshops, workshops, workshops! ready to experience this amazing opportunity. I attended nine workshops over the Conference, focusing mainly on how to facilitate peer-to-peer supervision groups, exploring values, learning the power of metaphors, being more compassionate towards myself and others, and expanding the limits of my self-exploration. I met beautiful, supportive, smart and funny people, created many networks and enjoyed mindfully every moment of energy this Conference offered. I had a poster presentation named: “Encouraging young therapists to explore - Finding your own blueprint (REBT – ACT – CFT – integration)”, where I shared my experiences with other attendants of the Conference, and I was amazed how many people were interested to hear, ask and share with me, saying this poster was very inspiring and interesting. What a feeling! The conference was amazing and ACBS staff and volunteers were great. Support I got from ACBS through this award was really professional and I’m very grateful for everything! I had a lot of ideas for bringing back everything I experienced, and share with my clients and colleagues.

But as life often takes unexpected turns, just before the Conference, I got an amazing opportunity to work in the global humanitarian context, getting a chance to make this world better for all children and their families. This has not left me the time I was planning to have for CBS/ACT dissemination after the Conference. However, with a lot of self-compassion, I re-consolidated myself and decided to share my experiences with clients and my colleagues in the next months following the Conference, making a solid ground for strengthening CBS/ACT in my community, in Bosnia and Herzegovina for future.

I noticed my work with clients now is more open, flexible and enjoyable than ever before. Based on my client’s feedback, they noticed I’m doing therapy with more clarity and mindfulness, making it more useful for them.
As ACT is part of my life, I continued to practice it and living it in my life, and being in Dublin brought my personal growth on a whole new level.

I shared some of the experiences with my colleagues in a peer-to-peer supervision group I initiated before the Conference, where we are having online and face-to-face discussions and sharing our learnings together (our online Facebook group - ACTion in Sarajevo).

I shared my knowledge and experiences with the young therapists attending CBT training in Sarajevo, introducing them to ACT and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). Bringing the “third wave” to the trainees of CBT training I found very interesting and helpful, as I got the feedback they now better understand that CBT can be done with more emotions, not just protocols.

I have plans to strengthen our ACT community in the following years in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina more, to expand our peer-to-peer supervision group and present ACT to the wider community, throughout lectures, presentations, sharing events, and make it more popular. Moreover, as the humanitarian worker providing technical assistance in the field of global Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) programs across the world, I want to bring ACT on the radar, and support piloting programs for supporting most marginalized and vulnerable children and their families using ACT as a base.

For me, a psychologist from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a still developing country in Europe, getting the chance to attend the WC17 was an amazing opportunity for my personal and professional growth! Thank you ACBS for giving me this opportunity, and for making Bosnia and Herzegovina and whole Western Balkans region more resourceful for expanding CBS! In the post-conflict societies like ours, having the strong ACT community is needed more than ever. Thank you and see you next time!
 

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Meryem Hajji Laamouri - Morocco

About three years ago, I received my training to become an ACT practitioner in parallel with my Master in Life and Business Coaching program. The ACT training transformed completely my life and opened my mind, my heart and vision on meaningful and mindful ways of working and living. Since then, my passion for the use of ACT in particular and the Cognitive and Behavior Science in general has been growing. I have become keen about enhancing my learning and know-how in ACT and Mindfulness therapies.

As a matter of fact, I was really happy to receive an email with the good news that I was selected as a an ACBS Scholarship recipient to participate at the ACBS World Conference that took place in Dublin, Ireland (June 25th - 30th, 2019). This great opportunity allowed me to enhance my competencies in ACT and acquire new skills, such as CFT and other ACT-related techniques that I am using in my work with my clients, during individual and group sessions, and workshops. The following report will therefore present my experience during at the conference and after the conference.

At the Conference:

I arrived on June 23rd, 2019 afternoon at the Dublin City University. I was nicely welcomed by both the DCU boarding and conference staff and provided with all the information and guidance for the conference.

I was so impressed by the program. It was filled with a huge amount of information, amazing workshops, amazing speakers, presenters, facilitators, big names in the world of psychotherapy, neuroscience, CBS, ACT…I was lost and not knowing what to chose as every inch of the program was important. I wanted to be in all the workshops and the conferences.

My pre-conference workshop was about “Mastering Compassion Focused Therapy: Taking CFT Beyond the Basics” by Ph.D Dennis Tirch, PsyD Laura Silberstein-Tirch, and Clin. Psy. Mary Welford. The reason why I chose this workshop and not another one was because I wanted to learn how to integrate effectively compassion therapy in my work with act. I felt blessed to be part of this 2-Day Intensive Workshop. Not only I learned the true meaning of compassion but I experienced its process. It was a profound and amazing emotional experience for me: I have acquired compassion focus therapeutic skills and techniques to help myself and my clients feel and act compassionately, to learn new ways of interactions with unpleasant emotions, and of clarifying values.

During the workshop, I was inspired by the notion of the Compassionate flexibility in comparison with ACT’s Psychological flexibility and how to help clients develop it in order to work on the feelings of not being worthy, shame and how to deal with self-criticism. These therapeutic skills allowed me to enhance my competencies during my work with my female clients. Most of the problems they have are linked the feelings of shame and self-criticism. By helping them develop a mindful compassionate mind, I become able to solve several challenges and help them engage effectively towards their values and what gives meaning to their lives.

In addition, I had the opportunity to enhance my knowledge and acquire further skills during the conference part as well. Although the choice was challenging for me, I was able to attend different conferences and presentations, namely the workshop about how to Deliver ACT effectively with high performing, busy people which I enjoyed a lot; Russ Harris conference on the self as a context-made simple; Robyn Walser Conference on ACT from a Therapeutic Stance. I attended Steven Hays and Kelly Wilson conferences…I attended the Women SIG meeting to connect with the women and learn more about them.

Moreover, the fun part was when I presented my poster at the cathedral. The title of my poster was about “Combining ACT and Creative Expression Therapy for Women’s Empowerment and Transformation.” I was happy to see that so many people were interested in the subject and research presented by my poster (copy attached). The poster highlights the efficiency of ACT when combined with a creative expression therapy: It can be done through music, painting, creative writing or any other creative activity.

Overall, both the pre-conference and the conference allowed me to acquire competencies that I used in my work with my clients and my workshops during right after I returned home. It also allowed to connect and exchange with so many inspiring people.

Post-Conference:

Upon my return, and during the past 6 months, I have taken the following actions:

‣ I have integrated the Compassion Focused Therapeutic techniques in my coaching-therapy work with my female clients. I am very satisfied because CFT really enhanced the results of the ACT therapy.

‣ I am receiving more and more positive feedback from my clients about how ACT changed their lives both at work and at their personal lives. ACT-CFT are my favored working therapies that I use and adapt according to the needs of all my clients. In fact, the conference helped me become more self-confident about accompanying my clients to achieve their desired results, transform their lives, and go for a meaningful life.

‣ I have facilitated a series of mindfulness workshops with a group of women teaching them the power to be in the present moment through Mindfulness exercises and also how to deal with their self-criticism through self-compassion.

‣ I have also participated in a 3 day study about the Human Enterprise during which I shared the magic of ACT as a Mindfulness- based cognitive and behavior therapy.

‣ I have facilitated a 2 day workshop with over 70 future leaders and entrepreneurs, 80% of whom were female participants. During this workshop, I guided the participants through mindfulness practice and how to integrate it in their daily life, especially during the execution of their action plans.

‣ I am currently preparing for other workshops that I will be facilitating at multinational organizations in order to help employees find their life-work balance and lead a meaningful life through ACT.

‣ Also, I am launching the ACT therapy for women empowerment starting from March.

‣ I have been volunteering to review ACBS fellows scholarship and I am an active member of the Creating a Culture of Empowerment and Productivity Team.

Overall, my participation at the conference helped me acquire an important knowledge and competencies that have really supported my work as a Life Empowerment Strategist (Coach-Therapist, Strategic Consultant, and a Trainer). I am very grateful for this great opportunity and for all the wonderful ACBS people who made it possible for me. Thank you! 

 You can read the complete report below!

Are you wondering how you can help to disseminate CBS in the developing world through scholarship opportunities like this? Please consider donating to the Developing Nations Fund via Paypal by using the button below. Your donation will help us continue to bring attendees and presenters from developing nations to the ACBS world conference.

Every dollar/euro/yen goes to helping those in need -- not a nickel goes to administration. Money collected for this fund is distributed by an ACBS Developing Nations Fund committee. Scholarships are awarded based on need and merit.

Please note that this contribution does not qualify as a tax-deductible charitable contribution, according to USA tax law ... but it's a nice thing to do.

Gabriel S. N. Lizada, Philippines