Emily Whitish, LMHC / USA
Are You Ready to Get Your ACT Together?
That’s fantastic! When I first learned Acceptance and Commitment Therapy it was like all my therapist dreams finally came true. I felt confident in my work, my clients were experiencing the world in new and meaningful ways, and I rarely felt stuck in the therapy room. I’m excited to help you experience the same joy and freedom in your work.
I provide clinical consultation and mentoring for licensed therapists and coaches seeking experiential learning of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy. You’ll deepen your knowledge base and understanding of ACT and improve your therapy or coaching skills in a compassionate learning environment.
Objectives
In consultation, you will…
1. Develop a practice in mindfulness and values-based action to support your resilience and personal effectiveness as an ACT practitioner
2. Conceptualize cases from the ACT perspective
3. Understand how the concept of experiential avoidance offers organization to the functional analysis of client problems
4. Develop a sense of personal wholeness and relate that same sense to your clients
5. Distinguish instances of human behavior that are experientially avoidant, and target more subtle forms of avoidance in your clients and yourself
6. Focus on acceptance of emotions and thoughts, both as it relates to your own experience and the experience of your clients
7. Assess the cost of avoidance as it is related to personal values while working to take action that is consistent with the same
8. Strengthen flexible perspective-taking to foster experiential knowing of an observing stance across experiences, judgments, and actions
9. Deal with clients’ sticky dilemmas and unsolvable problems
You will build your skills through functional analysis and experiential work. This is an invaluable part of your development. You’ll learn to embody ACT processes by staying focused on functions of behavior within contexts. This will help you move through the work fluidly, flexibly, and openly.
My Approach
A central tenet of ACT is that the therapist is also working from a stance of experiential acceptance. I model acceptance by making all that is felt (including what is evoked by our session) welcome while also working on the goals of treating the client. Mistakes are addressed in an open and compassionate fashion. My goal is to foster a relationship with you that allows for openness, reflection, creativity, and support. In addition, we will openly work on willingness to experience and commitment to personal values.
As you are using ACT to develop psychological flexibility in the client, our meetings will focus on you creating psychological flexibility in yourself, both in your own life and in the use of the therapy. I encourage compassion for self and the client, especially when searching for instances of avoidance and the personal costs associated with the avoidance.
I will provide opportunities for experiential learning by inviting you to engage in methods such as role-play, use of imagery and metaphor, mindfulness, defusion, and values clarification.
Relevant Training & Experience
I'm licensed in the state of Washington as a Mental Health Counselor (#LH60159227). I have a Master's degree in Clinical Counseling from Seattle University and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Washington.
I have been using Acceptance & Commitment Therapy as my primary therapeutic approach in my practice since 2011. I was trained in ACT by Madelon Bolling, Ph.D. at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center while working in an intervention research program that focuses on ACT to help people achieve healthy behavior change.
Learning ACT in a research environment provided an unparalleled depth of knowledge, unlike traditional learning environments. I quickly learned how to link the conceptual understanding of ACT principles and techniques to the fluid implementation of the therapy.
When I transitioned from the cancer center to private practice, I continued to receive individual ACT clinical consultation from Dr. Bolling. Consultation assisted in helping me further integrate ACT process, intention, and presence.
I have additional training in ACT for depression, anxiety, trauma, grief & loss, chronic health issues, chronic pain, and as a brief intervention (FACT - Focused Acceptance & Commitment Therapy). I also have training in compassion-focused therapy. I currently use ACT in my practice to help people with anxiety, depression, chronic illness, chronic pain, trauma, medical trauma, codependency, addiction, health anxiety, body image issues, disordered eating, and changing health behaviors. I also use ACT with caregivers and health care providers.
I have been a member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science since 2010. I am also a member of the ACBS Cancer Special Interest Group, the ACBS Pain Special Interest Group, as well as the ACBS ACT for Health Special Interest Group.
I’m not just an ACT practitioner, I live and breathe ACT. I believe in its effectiveness so much that I rarely stray from it.
Having said all of this, I do not feel one arrives at a “final” mastery of ACT. Instead, I believe that ongoing learning and engagement brings ACT to life in the clinical setting.
I provide individual and group consultation to licensed therapists, social workers, and coaches. All sessions are conducted over a secure video platform. I am currently accepting consultees for both individual and group formats. I am not an approved supervisor for licensure-seeking clinicians. Coaches, I require that you have completed an ICF-accredited training program or similar.
To get started, go to MY WEBSITE and submit the form. I’ll contact you in 1-2 business days to discuss your goals. If I am a good fit for your needs (and my schedule allows), I’ll provide you with the next steps which will include scheduling, payment, and signing the consultation agreement.
https://www.emilywhitish.com/act-consultation-for-therapists
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