ACT for couples

Book now: https://contextualconsulting.co.uk/live-training/act-for-couples 

Relationships are both a source of immense joy and profound challenges. For therapists working with couples, understanding how to navigate the complexities of interpersonal dynamics is key to promoting connection and meaningful change. This workshop provides a practical, skills-based approach to integrating ACT principles into couples therapy. Designed for those already working with couples or considering this modality, this workshop equips participants with tools to assess and intervene on recurring patterns of disconnection, while fostering psychological flexibility between partners.

Background to the workshop

Couples therapy often brings to light the tension between individual needs and interpersonal connection. Partners may find themselves caught in repetitive cycles of conflict, driven by deeply held needs and survival instincts. These cycles can erode trust and intimacy, leaving couples feeling disconnected and stuck. While ACT has been widely recognised for its effectiveness in individual therapy, its application within couples work has been less explored. However, emerging research and clinical innovations demonstrate that ACT’s principles of psychological flexibility are uniquely suited to addressing the intertwined dynamics of intimate relationships. By extending ACT interpersonally, therapists can offer partners a framework to navigate their differences, respond flexibly to challenges, and reconnect with their shared values.

What you will gain from this workshop

Join Lou Lasprugato, a licensed marriage and family therapist, internationally recognised ACT trainer, and previous chair of the training committee for the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. With decades of experience in psychotherapy, training, and consultation, Lou brings a wealth of expertise and an engaging teaching style that has been praised by clinicians worldwide.

• A fresh perspective on ACT: learn how to extend the ACT model interpersonally, reimagining the Hexaflex to incorporate working with values within the dyad as a central feature.
• Practical tools for couples therapy: gain techniques to conduct functional analytic case conceptualisations, including using the ACT Matrix as a couples intake tool.
• Insight into yearnings: understand how individual and interpersonal yearnings drive behaviour and influence relationship dynamics.
• Skills for breaking conflict cycles: identify and disrupt unworkable interaction patterns that perpetuate disconnection, using a process-based approach.
• Four foundational skills: practise interventions that foster psychological flexibility, attachment-based relating, and relational fulfilment.
• A deeper understanding of diversity: explore how sociocultural factors and survival mechanisms impact couples’ behaviour and their relational context.
• Experiential learning: engage in hands-on exercises to model, evoke, and reinforce behaviours essential for intimate connection.

About this workshop

This 8-hour workshop is designed to be engaging and interactive, blending theory with practice. Participants will learn through a combination of didactic teaching, experiential exercises, live demonstrations, and role-play scenarios. The workshop will guide attendees step-by-step, from understanding the theoretical underpinnings of interpersonal psychological flexibility to applying these principles in practice with couples. The use of the ACT Matrix as a couples intake tool will be demonstrated, and participants will have the opportunity to practise this and other techniques in dyadic and small group settings.

Module 1: Yearnings and interpersonal flexibility
 

This module includes:
• Understanding individual and interpersonal yearnings within intimate relationships
• Exploring how yearnings and vulnerabilities shape interaction patterns
• Extending psychological flexibility through interpersonal experiential exercises

Module 2: The ACT Couples matrix and intake interview

This module includes:
• Using the ACT Matrix as an assessment tool for couples
• Mapping functional relations in the partners’ values, yearnings, vulnerabilities, and overt behaviors
• Conducting collaborative intake interviews with both partners

Module 3: Multi-level assessment and case conceptualisation

This module includes:
• Developing process-based, functional analytic case conceptualisations for couples
• Integrating attachment patterns, core processes, and contextual factors
• Identifying threat-based cycles that maintain disconnection

Module 4: Shaping four foundational skills

This module includes:
• Introduction to four foundational skills used in ACT-informed couples work
• Modelling and shaping these skills within therapy sessions
• Setting the stage for more flexible/workable patterns of interaction

Who will benefit from this workshop?

This workshop is ideal for therapists and psychologists who work, or aspire to work, with couples. It is particularly suited to practitioners familiar with ACT who wish to expand their application of the model into relationship contexts. While prior experience with couples therapy is not required, a foundational understanding of ACT principles will enhance the learning experience. Whether you are an experienced couples therapist or new to this modality, this workshop offers practical tools and insights to deepen your clinical practice.