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Jim Lucas ACT Trainer's Page

 

Hello…I am Jim Lucas. Welcome to my trainer’s page. Below you’ll find details of my training interests, my approach and some highlights of my favourite workshops I’ve had the pleasure of facilitating.

I am based in the UK and I have mentored and taught many therapists to effectively integrate ACT into their practice…after thinking I’ll never be as good as my teachers!

“Moving from theory to practice can be highly challenging, mainly when working with clients with unique complexities.  I recognise the uncertainty from the early years of practising a new model. 

After many hours of therapy practice, working closely with ACT experts, and applying it personally, I have come to know ACT intimately.  I truly appreciate the opportunity to share my insights and show therapists how to help clients build psychological flexibility.”

I’ve taught Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to 1000s of practitioners worldwide, from Birmingham ACT Week to Worcester Primary Care, Counselling services in the USA, multiple NHS Trusts and departments, mental health services and long-term health conditions, UK and international conferences and finally, now in the Openforwards ACT Learning Centre. 

I followed the path of professionalising my teaching and passed the ACBS peer-reviewed trainer process.  And as of July 2025, I was appointed Chair of the global ACBS Training Committee, overseeing the peer-review process for trainer applications.

In 2022, I turned my failing online wellbeing community into one that focused on helping practitioners build their ACT expertise.  Now, inside the ACT Learning Centre, we build knowledge and skills through deliberate practice, clinics, shared resources, book clubs, and structured courses.  This community of practice ensures no one gets left behind trying to improve alone.  We’ve had members from the UK, Ireland, the European mainland, the USA, Canada and South America. 

In 2025, I launched Adv-ACT, my first six-month training programme - an advanced curriculum with weekly group practice sessions designed to build your precision from the inside out.  It’s been a great success, and I am excited about the prospect of helping many more ACT practitioners turn their foundational knowledge and skills into more proficient and embodied expertise.

Please get in touch.

If you think I can be of help, please visit my website or email me here.

I am available for SIG and chapter presentations/discussions, commissioned workshops, and open to collaborations for conferences. 

Publications & Chapters

Lucas, J., (2025) Training in Third Wave and Integrative Approaches in Becoming a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, Routledge.

eBooks 

Bradley, S & Lucas, J. SEED: An ACT Supervision Model, 2024. Lucas, J., 

The ACT Roadmap, Openforwards, 2021. (Pubs. English & Portuguese). Lucas, J., 

The Beginners Guide of Easy to Apply Strategies to reduce Stress & Strain, Openforwards, 2018 Lucas, J., 

The Good Sleep Guide for hard-working parents, Openforwards, 2017. Lucas J., 

Presentations & Invited Lectures

I have delivered many online workshops for organisations in the UK and worldwide on the subjects of supervision, Depression, Selfing, Case Conceptualisation, Therapist Burnout.

  • A Workshop, “Breaking the 4th Wall.  Increasing Precision in ACT with Bi-Directional Functional Analysis” with Lou Laspragato, ACBS World Conference, 2026
  • A Workshop, “Beyond Technique: Therapists Sensibility and Embodied Relational Awareness” with Manuela O’Connell, ACBS World Conference, 2026
  • A Panel, “Making Sense and Making Choices: Integrating ACT and Existential Practice, ACBS World Conference, 2026
  • A Workshop, “Less Talk, more ACT. Bringing a Deliberate Practice Method into Supervision, ACBS UK & Ireland Chapter Conference, 2025 
  • A workshop, “Disrupting and Expanding the Behavioural Stream.”, ACBS World Conference, 2025 
  • A Panel, “ACT within the Therapeutic Relationship: Interpersonal Processes of Change, ACBS World Conference, 2025 
  • A Panel, “Implementing CBS Training Standards Worldwide, ACBS World Conference, 2025 
  • A workshop, “Enhancing your ACT Practice with CFT.”, ACBS UK & ROI Chapter, 2024 
  • A workshop, “ACT Enhanced Exposure.”, ACBS Romania Chapter Conference, 2024 
  • A workshop, “I didn’t do my homework, but I want to get better.”, ACBS World Conference, 2023. 
  • A workshop, “Enhancing commitment to exposure treatment with values and the therapeutic relationship.”, BABCP Conference, 2022. 
  • A workshop, “Contextual Relating, Responding and Reinforcing. A process-based approach to Functional Analysis.”, ACBS World Conference, 2022. 
  • A workshop, “Do I have or do I do depression? Using Mindfulness, Acceptance & Compassion to enhance CBT treatment for depression.”, EABCT Conference, 2021. 
  • A workshop, “Shaping Supervision: How do we train ACT Supervision Skills?”, ACBS UK/I Conference, 2020. 
  • A Webinar, “How to improve the wellbeing of therapists: Using psychological flexibility to build better habits at work”, BABCP Webinars, 2020 
  • A workshop, “The Strong & Curious CBT Therapist: Using the Self-Practice & Self-Reflection Approach to develop loving-kindness and healthy self-doubt,” BABCP Conference, 2018. 
  • A workshop, “Using Values to Activate your practice”, BABCP Conference, 2018 
  • IGNITE Presentation, “The Words Don’t Work”, ACBS World Conference, Seville, 2017

Podcast & TV Appearances

  • Podcast: Psychologists Off the Clock:  Jim appeared on Psychologists Off the Clock to discuss therapist self-doubt and the challenges therapists face when trying to work skilfully and compassionately.
  • Podcast: Life’s Dirty Little Secrets: Jim appeared on Life’s Dirty Little Secrets to explore psychological ideas in an accessible, conversational way.
  • Podcast: Don’t Get a Therapist, Yet: Jim appeared on Don’t Get a Therapist, Yet in an episode exploring what it means to live less from the head and more from direct experience.
  • Television: CBT Therapist on Twinstitute: Jim appeared as a CBT therapist on an episode of Twinstitute, contributing psychological expertise to a programme exploring human behaviour and wellbeing.

 

FREE Resources

You can use various resources of mine for free.  Here is a short list:

 

Follow Me

You can follow me on various social media accounts, including:

 

Want to work together?

I invite you to join the ACT Learning Centre, which is designed for ACT Practitioners who want to build their expertise in a Community of Practice.  For more information, click here.

Thanks for reading this far and I look forward to meeting you.

Jim