ACT Trainers
The list of trainers below is meant to help learners more easily locate qualified and effective ACT Trainers.
Trainers listed here have committed to help others learn ACT with high fidelity and to work from a shared set of values. They are viewed as able to train ACT accurately, fully conveying the model both didactically and experientially. In the past this was evaluated by a committee of developers of ACT/RFT (see actual invitation) and now is evaluated by peer-review based on defined criteria.
Trainers pay no fees to anyone to be listed. This list is not meant to be de facto certification: there are other trainers equally qualified who simply choose not to be on such a list (because, for example, they would rarely be available; they are primarily researchers or academics; they are still students; etc.). If others in your area are apparently available to train in ACT they may be equally qualified: if you want input on that issue you can contact local ACT therapists or researchers (see lists elsewhere on the website), one of the trainers below, or members of the training committee for advice.
To learn more about how to be listed here and view the application forms please see the Training Standards page.
| Click on a name or picture to view that trainer's full profile and contact information. |
| 36 total trainers |
 | Patricia Bach, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, Illinois United States |
 | Yvonne Barnes-Holmes, Ph.D. University Lecturer National University of Ireland Maynooth Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland |
 | Sonja Batten, Ph.D. Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry Georgetown University School of Medicine and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences School of Medicine Silver Spring, Maryland United States |
 | John T Blackledge, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Dept of Psychology Morehead State University Morehead, Kentucky United States |
 | Frank W. Bond, Ph.D. Professor Goldsmiths, University of London London, United Kingdom |
 | Martin Brock, MSc Principle Adult Psychotherapist Nottingham Psychotherapy Unit Nottingham, United Kingdom |
 | Joseph Ciarrochi, Ph.D. Associate Professor University of Wollongong Wollongong, New South Wales Australia |
 | Lisa W Coyne, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Suffolk University Boston, Massachusetts United States |
 | JoAnne Caroline Dahl, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Psychology, Uppsala University Uppsala, Sweden |
 | Georg H. Eifert, Other Professor and Department Chair Chapman University, Department of Psychology Orange, California United States |
Trainer Pages (for trainees)
Available pages for Trainers appear below.
Pages are created and maintained by trainers for their trainees.
They often contain general information as well as available training materials.
Jason Luoma's training page
Attached below are some documents providing information on how to obtain further training in ACT and also Powerpoint presentations from some past trainings. This page is just getting started, so more presentations will be added over time.
*Can't see the links below? Access to attachments, videos, audio, the professional listserv, etc. are a privilege of paid ACBS membership.
With Values-Based Dues, you choose how much you pay for your membership ($1 min.). You need to create a login, then purchase your ACBS membership.
There are detailed instructions here about how to do this.
For more information about training I provide, online training, and a listserv to be alerted to ACT trainings in the Pacific NW, you can go here for more info. Additional ACT-relevant handouts and audio-recordings can be found here.
Steven Hayes' Training Page
Attached below are some training resources and Powerpoint presentations from trainings I have done. This page is in its early stages, so more will be coming.
- Can't see the links below? Access to attachments, videos, audio, the professional listserv, etc. are a privilege of paid ACBS membership. With Values-Based Dues, you choose how much you pay for your membership ($1 min.). You need to create a login, then purchase your ACBS membership. There are detailed instructions here about how to do this.
Training Standards
Joining the ACBS Training Community
Being listed as a trainer on the ACBS site is meant as a pragmatic way to help learners find high quality ACT training. The ACT Trainers in this community are committed to training with high fidelity to the model and work from explicit, agreed-upon shared values as they train others in ACT.
You are welcome to join this training community and be listed as an ACT trainer. Five criteria must be met to do so. You must:
- Agree to the list of values and principles for ACT trainers;
- Have a terminal degree in a behavioral health field;
- Be known to be of good character;
- Be highly effective in the core skills and competencies of an ACT therapist; and
- Be highly effective in training others in ACT.
The ACBS training community uses a process of peer review to determine whether a trainer meets these criteria. The spirit of the peer review process is to protect the high fidelity of ACT training through review of the accuracy and quality with which a trainer shares the ACT model while simultaneously promoting a non-proprietary open community that encourages new talent and innovation.
If you are interested in joining the training community and being listed as a trainer, a good place to start is with self-assessment. To self-assess your qualifications, first review the values statement to see if these are values you endorse. Next, assess yourself against the list of therapist competencies and trainer competencies to see if you would rate yourself highly.
If you view yourself as qualified, please consider requesting peer-review of your skills as an ACT trainer. See the Request for Peer Review Form which describes guidelines about materials you should or could submit to provide enough detail for peer reviewers to evaluate your qualifications on the five criteria above. (Note: peer reviewers may not know you and your work personally, so be sure to provide sufficient information to allow them to accurately see and evaluate your qualifications and competency as an ACT trainer. Also, please ask those who write you letters of recommendation to comment specifically about your character, service to ACT/RFT community and competency as an ACT therapist and trainer.)
If you have any questions about requesting peer review or joining the training community, please contact the ACBS Training Committee chair, Jason Luoma.
About Peer Review
The ACBS community uses a peer-review process to balance the need to protect and foster the high fidelity of ACT training with the need to keep the community open to new talented, innovative, qualified trainers.
The peer-review to be listed is analogous to scientific manuscript review at a top-notch journal. Peers review the materials the trainer submits. A positive review means that peers view the trainer’s work as of the soundest quality. Real effort is made to have the decision to list a trainer on the ACBS website under the influence of the data/argument in the work rather than personal or political factors like who you know or where you trained.
Please note: Anyone is free to do/provide training in ACT without undergoing peer review or joining this training community. This peer review process is a voluntary method trainers choose to undergo because it fits their own professional development goals.
Here’s how the peer-review process works:
- Candidates self-assess their qualifications relative to the evaluation criteria and submit their request for peer review (following the Checklist) to join the ACBS training community and be listed as an ACT trainer on the ACBS website. (All materials should be submitted electronically, unless of course you have video on tape. In this case, contact Jason Luoma about where to mail it, in triplicate.)
- The Chair of the Training Committee invites Reviewers from among currently listed trainers on the ACBS website. Each application is independently reviewed by at least three currently listed trainers.
- The Reviewers receive the invitation by e-mail. The Reviewer agrees or declines to review.
- If the Reviewer agrees, he or she reads the application and completes the peer review rating form, selects a Recommendation, and submits the review to the Committee Chair and ACBS office. Reviewers are expected to keep the information in applications they review confidential.
- The Committee Chair makes the final decision relying on peer-review feedback to guide the decision and will send a summary letter to inform the applicant of the decision along with each reviewer’s blind comments to the applicant. (The same summary and each others’ comments are sent to reviewers.) Applicants are encouraged to use reviewers' comments as suggestions regarding where they could further refine skills and competencies. The Committee Chair may need to occasionally resolve issues related to conflict of interest among reviewers. Reviewers’ identities are generally not revealed to applicants in order to free reviewers from any social pressures, allowing them to consider only the quality of the application).
- Trainer profiles of those approved by the review process are posted on the ACBS website.