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• Archive: https://archive.ph/wip/nzkuz Apply ACT with ConfidenceGain practical tools for applying ACT from Dr. Steven C. Hayes through 10 online modules featuring extensive demonstration videos, network diagramming, clinical analysis, treatment planning, reads skills practice, and more.Lifetime AccessCourse enrollment comes with lifetime access to all course materials, plus you’ll be protected by a 14-Day Money-Back Guarantee.Confidently Apply ACT from Intake through TreatmentCreate a guiding framework for effectively usingacceptance and commitment therapy to cultivate lasting changeThe Gap between Theory and PracticeIt’s one thing to know the ACT model and its principles in the abstract.It’s another to implement them in a way that’s impactful and organic, especially when you’re sitting across from a challenging client and the clock is ticking.With clients who seem disengaged and resistant to change, or cling to goals of diminishing “bad” feelings, the way forward is often unclear.In these scenarios, the theory might make perfect sense to practitioners conceptually . .
• .But when it comes to applying ACT, they’re less confident.Self-doubt creeps in, and they hesitate to make their next move, questioning if it’s the best one to guide the client toward meaningful progress.And unlike the masterful sessions clinicians see in workshops, many of them instead share experiences like the following:They work comfortably with acceptance and defusion, but struggle to find the right exercise to target self-as-context, so avoid it in sessionsThey sometimes feel like teachers instead of therapists, relying on lecturing to introduce concepts instead of weaving experiential exercises naturally into sessionsThey feel stuck when it comes to challenging clients, unsure of how to move forward or make their sessions as valuable as possibleThey hesitate to push certain clients to engage with difficult thoughts or feelings for fear of demotivating them further, but end up on different pages about their therapeutic aimsThey approach sessions with rigid ideas about what should happen next rather than being able to respond flexibly to the momentExperiences like these are surprisingly common among ACT practitioners.Even skilled clinicians can feel uncertain when tailoring treatments for particularly difficult clients — especially without resorting to cookie-cutter interventions.But why is this the case, when we know the model and have seen it work?The answer goes beyond simply practicing more of the same, into something at the heart of this method.How a Process-Based Framework Helps You Apply ACT More Effectively1.It helps you think flexibly instead of linearlyHuman lives are not composed of a few events laid out in a linear fashion.
• So despite our best efforts, approaching therapy in that way can lead to a dead end.Still, linear thinking is so ingrained in our training and culture that a flexible approach can feel abstract if it is not guided by practical tools.With the tools inside our process-based framework, we can instead see how underlying processes cause behavior to reinforce and amplify itself in loops.For example, suppose you have a client who has gradually had her life shrink due to chronic pain following an injury at work and resulting over-use of opiates.
• It is easy to focus on her pain and how her use of opiates has led to a growing addiction.However, the linear sequence of injury → pain → opiate use may block out other important case features, such as how the injury impacted her financial stability, or how her father’s Alzheimer’s has fed fear and fusion in her life.Network diagrams allow us to clearly visualize behavior patternsBy using this framework to gain a non-linear perspective of a client’s case, you can develop a more nuanced understanding of their behavior and make a better plan to intervene.2.It allows you to turn case complexity into opportunityWhen you’re struggling to apply ACT principles in-session, it’s difficult to know how to intervene in the moment and at the same time know that it’s tied to long-term success.A process-based framework allows you to clearly see behavior patterns within the whole context that retains them.
• Because of this, you will have a holistic understanding of the case and will see more opportunities to intervene if an attempt falls flat or you simply hit a wall in therapy.This framework allows us to approach therapy strategically, like a game of chessFor example, while you may identify a crucial experiential avoidance pattern and see an opening to target it with acceptance, you’ll also see options to alter that same core patterns using other processes.This framework also allows you to see strengths — instances of psychological flexibility — that you can build up as part of a holistic treatment strategy.I was recently reminded of the importance of such thinking when working with a client who found herself undermining intimacy in her relationships.By expanding the focus, I discovered a fused self-image, only noticeable at work, that she was “likely to break under pressure.” After employing self-compassion and defusion work focused on this sense of self, she was then able to work on vulnerability in relationships.In other words, this framework allows you to approach therapy like a game of chess:Instead of thinking one move at a time, you’re visualizing a way to win the whole game.3.