An expert tip from Dr Chris McCurry, ahead of his workshop ACT for parents Anyone who works with children knows that the real work of therapy rarely happens in the therapy room. It happens in kitchens, cars and bedrooms, in the heat of a Tuesday evening meltdown, long after the session has ended. The person […]
For elite athletes, coaches and managers participating in high-stakes tournaments, the pressure to perform is immense. Not only are they representing their teams and countries, but competitors, teammates and passionate fans watch their every move. In this environment, it’s obviously crucial that athletes have all been taught the mental fortitude and psychological skills to thrive […]
By Natalie Littlehales, Contextual Consulting Marketing Manager The Rik Mayall Comedy festival might not be the obvious place to do some experiential learning but there was a new piece of theatre on the line-up at the end of May, that had plenty of potential for discussion and education, so we thought it was worth a […]
One of the most powerful aspects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) lies in the therapeutic relationship. In fact, many of us find that the relationship itself can play as significant a role as any specific technique or intervention. However, in ACT, the therapeutic relationship takes on a unique meaning, shaping both the practitioner and […]
The energy in the building was evident as over 250 attendees gathered at Cecil Sharp House in London to join us for our two-day Trauma-focused ACT (T-FACT) workshop, led by none other than Dr Russ Harris. With his reputation as a world-leading ACT trainer and best-selling author of The Happiness Trap, it was no surprise […]
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) can work powerfully together when integration is thoughtful rather than forced. Both approaches aim to reduce psychological rigidity, albeit through different mechanisms. EMDR facilitates adaptive information processing of traumatic memories, while ACT helps people respond more flexibly to difficult internal experiences. One area […]
A guest blog by Dr Linda Nicholson As an ACT clinician and co-author of the SHAPE model for Contextual Behavioural Science, I’ve always seen supervision as a space to explore not just what clinicians do, but how they relate -to their clients, to the unknown, and to their own inner experience. What follows is an […]
Created in collaboration with Lisa Coyne Helping young children develop psychological flexibility using acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an exciting yet challenging journey. Clinicians and parents alike might feel unsure about how to translate complex ACT principles into meaningful and practical strategies for children as young as four years old. At the heart of […]
Online therapy has become an indispensable resource for mental health care. Offering flexibility, accessibility, and convenience, it has transformed how practitioners can connect with clients. However, this evolution also requires therapists to creatively adapt their approaches to maintain the depth and impact of in-person sessions. Many aspects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) seamlessly lend […]
Leadership in the modern workplace is fraught with challenges. Balancing conflicting priorities, managing teams with diverse needs, and staying true to one’s values can make the role of a leader both rewarding and overwhelming. In a recent video from our expert tips series, Ross McIntosh dives into this very topic, exploring how acceptance and commitment […]
There’s a pattern that shows up in supervision that I find quietly fascinating, and if you’ve sat in a supervisor’s chair for long enough, you’ll recognise it immediately. A supervisee comes with a client. They’re stuck. The client isn’t progressing, the sessions feel flat, something isn’t working. So you work through it together and you look at the function of the key behaviours, you revisit the formulation, you find a new angle. It’s a good session. Then […]
Guest blog from Jennifer Kemp Rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) is a physiological reaction to painful rejection that can happen in close relationships, friendships, families, communities, healthcare, and workplaces. Autistic people and ADHDers experience frequent rejection and criticism throughout our lives, which can make us more sensitive to rejection. Our nervous systems learn to expect rejection, […]
Adolescence is a time of significant growth, challenge, and opportunity with young people often facing difficulties related to identity, relationships, and emotional flexibility, alongside the pressures of modern life. Psychological flexibility models, such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and the DNA-V model (developed by Louise Hayes and Joseph Ciarrochi) offer nuanced, evidence-based frameworks to […]
Acceptance and commitment therapy is not simply described as a behavioural therapy. It is one. ACT sits firmly within the contextual behavioural science tradition and draws its conceptual foundations directly from behaviour analysis; from reinforcement, rule-governed behaviour, functional contextualism, through to the analysis of verbal behaviour. Yet in practice, many clinicians reach ACT through a […]
A focused review of Capel & Twohig’s case study Why this paper matters While outcome studies have established that acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) performs comparably to traditional CBT and ERP for obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), fewer papers show how ACT-informed exposure is actually implemented in clinical work. This case study by Capel and Twohig provides a detailed, session-by-session […]
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