Deepening Your ACT Practice: Experiential Practice and Case Conceptualization in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
8-session consultation group running October-December 2023
About the group:
This 8-week structured consultation group is intended to help therapists deepen their of ACT with clients, while getting support and guidance. The course focuses on developing two essential skills: case conceptualization and maintaining an experiential learning focus. Case conceptualization provides the roadmap for the therapy process, helps to establish meaningful therapy goals aligned with ACT's core processes, and facilitates consistent, empathic, and flexible therapeutic interactions. Experiential learning makes the therapy more practical, personal, and effective. It's about learning by doing, which helps clients understand and apply ACT's principles in a deeper and more meaningful way.
This is not a passive workshop where you sit back and observe, but instead a chance to practice new ACT skills and get feedback as you apply ACT theory. There will be videos, readings, and practice exercises between each session to generalize learning. Expect you’ll need about two hours of time between each session for homework and practice.
Sessions will be led by peer-reviewed ACT trainers Jason Luoma and Jenna LeJeune. We will cap attendance at 20 participants to keep the level of personal interaction relatively high. We will also have other experienced facilitators attend some of the sessions to help facilitate small group interactions to allow even more individual attention.
The group will meet at 12:00-1:30 PM Pacific on Wednesdays on the dates below:
Orientation and Self-Assessment
- Oct. 11th, 2023
Case Conceptualization
- October 18, 2023
- October 25, 2023
- November 1, 2023
Being Experiential
- November 8, 2023
- November 15, 2023
- December 6, 2023
Wrap up and Future Directions
- December 13, 2023
CEs will be offered for this workshop. Each group meeting will be worth 1.5 CE credits for a total of 12 possible CEs. CEs will only be given for live meetings attended.
ACTUAL WORKSHOP TIME: Eight 90-minute online structured group consultation sessions (12 hours total)
This will be a highly interactive course that will rely on participants’ active and consistent participation. As such, if you know you can’t attend at least 6 out of the 8 sessions, then we ask that you not sign up for this group. In addition to the group meetings, we ask that participants commit to setting aside about 2 hours of time for practice assignments between meetings. Recordings of the didactic portion of meetings will be recorded for those who were not able to attend the meeting.
AUDIENCE
This course is limited to licensed health care providers and to those who are currently in training and working under supervision towards licensure.
INSTRUCTIONAL LEVEL
In order to participate in the training you must have attended the ACT Introductory Workshop on Sept. 29-30 through Portland Psychotherapy or at least 12 hours of CE training on ACT.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Class 1
- Have a plan for their learning goals relating to the consultation process
- Understand which ACT processes they use more or less often
Class 2
- Better conceptualize client behavior in session.
- Identify client behaviors that would suggest particular ACT methods
Class 3
- Explain the relationship between case conceptualization, treatment planning, and applying interventions
- Understand when to use a more focused versus a broader case conceptualization
Class 4
- Create a case conceptualization within an ACT framework.
- Understand how the different ACT techniques relate to each other and to the basic principles of ACT
Class 5
- Explain the value of experiential learning as a core aspect of ACT.
- Describe the experiential learning process of introducing a concept, practicing it in session, and applying it out of session
Class 6
- Utilize at least one acceptance sequence
- Utilize at least one defusion sequence
Class 7
- Differentiate more experiential modes of learning from modes that are less experiential.
- Identify at least two strategies to shift to an experiential mode.
Class 8
- Utilize experiential methods in ACT more fluidly and flexibly
- Identify future directions they would like to take in continuing to learn ACT
SCHOLARSHIPS
We reserve a number of partial scholarships for potential attendees who could not otherwise afford to come. We give particular priority to those who would add diverse and underrepresented voices to our field. To submit an application, please click here.
CE CREDITS
Portland Psychology Clinic, Research & Training Center is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Portland Psychotherapy, Clinic, Research & Training Center maintains responsibility for all programs and content.
Each group meeting will be worth 1.5 CE credits for a total of 12 possible CEs. CEs will only be given for live meetings attended.
Refund/cancellation policy:
We charge a $15 administration fee for cancellations made more than one week before the training event. For cancellations within one week of the training event, we will refund 50% of the tuition. No refunds will be given after the first meeting.
Special Accommodations:
Please contact us if you need accommodations to enable you to fully participate in the workshop. We will work with you and do our best to find a way to ensure your participation.
Presenters:
Jason Luoma, PhD, is CEO of Portland Psychotherapy in Portland, OR. His research focuses on shame, self-stigma, connection, and the application of ACT and psychedelic assisted therapy as an intervention shame and increasing self-compassion. He is currently running a clinical of MDMA-assisted therapy for social anxiety disorder that is one of the first trials of psychedelic assisted therapy in the Pacific Northwest. He is also an internationally recognized trainer in ACT, former chair of the ACT training committee, and past president of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. He has over 80 publications including co-authoring two books: Learning Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Values in Therapy: A Clinician’s Guide to Helping Clients Explore Values, Increase Psychological Flexibility, and Live a More Meaningful Life. His work on shame and compassion can be read at www.actwithcompassion.com.
Jenna LeJeune, PhD, is President and co-founder of Portland Psychotherapy. As a clinical psychologist, Jenna specializes in using ACT to work with adults struggling with various relationship difficulties, including problems with intimacy, sexuality, trauma-related relationship challenges, and also struggles a person may have in their relationship with their own body. Much of her work focuses on issues related to meaning, values, self-compassion, and shame. Jenna is also a study therapist for a clinical trial on the use of MDMA-assisted therapy for those with social anxiety disorder. She is the co-author of the book Values in Therapy: A Clinician's Guide to Helping Clients Explore Values, Increase Psychological Flexibility, and Live a More Meaningful Life. Jenna is also a peer-reviewed ACT trainer and provides ACT trainings for professionals around the world.