Dover, New Hampshire -- Making Bold Moves: Enhancing Your Practice with Acceptance & Commitment Therapy

**Link to Powerpoint Presentation**

Making Bold Moves: Enhancing Your Practice with Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
Presenter: Joel Guarna, PhD

* Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
* Time: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm EST
* Location: Wentworth-Douglas Hospital, Portsmouth, NH
* Fee: TBD
* Sponsored by the New Hampshire Psychological Association (NHPA)
* Approved for 6 CEs for psychologists.*
* Please check the NHPA site for additional information about registration and CEs.*

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a contemporary form of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) that has shown much promise in helping clients with a wide range of emotional and behavioral difficulties. ACT introduces a comprehensive model of therapy including a creative set of metaphors and experiential exercises to help clients (a) move away from unworkable change strategies, (b) make healthy contact with thoughts, feelings, and other private reactions they have feared and avoided, (c) re-connect with their deepest values to set a direction for change and to motivate change, and (d) experience their struggles differently and in a manner that permits them to move forward with their lives now. This one-day training will introduce participants to this exciting form of therapy. The instructor will describe the ACT model and explain how it compares to and differs from traditional CBT. The instructor will give an overview of the rapidly-growing body of research on ACT and its processes. Attendees will learn to conceptualize client problems from an ACT perspective and how to apply basic ACT interventions. Attendees will be invited to participate in a variety of exercises to help experience ACT processes and to better understand their clients’ perspectives and struggles. Lastly, attendees will leave this training with many resources should they wish to further develop their proficiency with ACT.