2021 #1 Newsletter (January)

WHO Guidelines Recommend ACT for the Management of Chronic Pain in Children

In December 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) published its “Guidelines on the management of chronic pain in children.” The guidelines contain exciting news for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy practitioners and researchers: ACT is specifically recommended for use. The guidelines state there is “moderate certainty evidence" in support of ACT in improving functional disability. Read more.

Call for Nominations: Board of Directors

It's time again for elections to the ACBS Board of Directors! Being on the ACBS Board is a rewarding experience, and an opportunity to help shape a vibrant CBS community. This year, we will need to elect 5 new members to the board: President, Secretary-Treasurer, 2 Members-at-large, and a Student Representative. If you would like to nominate someone, please submit the nomination by January 31.

New CBS and Cancer Special Interest Group

We are pleased to announce the newest Special Interest Group: CBS and Cancer SIG! The mission of the CBS and Cancer SIG is to facilitate collaboration and exploration between professionals, researchers, and trainees interested in the area of psycho-oncology. ACBS members can join the CBS and Cancer SIG, hop onto the SIG listserv, and learn more on the CBS and Cancer SIG's webpage.

Student Spotlight Award

It is our pleasure to introduce the most recent Student Spotlight Award recipient! This month's featured student is Huanzhen Xu, a graduate student at Bowling Green State University (USA). She designed a treatment-outcome study with Chinese international students using ACT and published part of the findings in the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. Read more about Huanzhen Xu.

Psychological flexibility and inflexibility as sources of resiliency and risk during a pandemic: Modeling the cascade of COVID-19 stress on family systems with a contextual behavioral science lens

In JCBS Vol. 18, Jennifer Daks, Jack Peltz, and Ronald Rogge conclude parental flexibility and inflexibility are key points of intervention for helping families navigate the current global health crisis. The paper states that parent flexibility was linked to greater family cohesion and constructive parenting. ACBS members can read the full text of all JCBS articles for free in the JCBS member portal.

Share your stories of how ACBS, CBS, or ACT has impacted and inspired you!

The ACBS Foundation is looking to highlight inspirational stories about ACBS or Contextual Behavioral Science. This is your chance to lift up the work of someone that has inspired you. We also encourage you to toot your own horn and let us know about the great work that you’ve done! Whatever your story about ACBS, CBS, or ACT, we’d love to hear from you. Share your story.

Michael J. Asher Student Dissertation Award: Application Deadline is February 1, 2021

The Awards Committee is accepting applications for the Michael J. Asher Student Dissertation Awards, which will be given to two students based on their doctoral dissertation proposal related to the use of CBS with children/adolescents. Accompanying this honor will be two monetary awards of $750 USD to be used in support of research or to attend the ACBS World Conference. Apply here.

ACBS Virtual World Conference: Oral Submission Deadline is February 15, 2021

We invite you to join us for the Annual World Conference of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science June 24-27, 2021. The general call for oral presentations-symposia, papers, panels, ignites, and workshops-closes on February 15, 2021. Poster submissions will be accepted until March 20, 2021.
We are excited to announce that registration is now open!

ACBS Virtual World Conference: Scholarship Application Deadlines

- Developing Nations Conference Scholars - application deadline is Feb 1
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference Scholars - application deadline is Feb 1
- Student World Conference Scholars - application deadline is Feb 15
- ACBS Foundation Student Scholarship - application deadline is Feb 15

ACBS Foundation Grant: Application Deadline is March 1, 2021

The ACBS Foundation is proud to announce a new funding mechanism for CBS projects related to the environment, social justice, and behavior in real life contexts. The ACBS Foundation Grant application period is currently open and will close on March 1, 2021. Apply for the grant here.
Please consider volunteering to be a grant reviewer.