Navigating menopause with ACT
A skills-based workshop for practitioners
Menopause is a major life transition that impacts millions of women—but it’s often misunderstood, under-diagnosed, and under-supported. For those providing psychological or coaching support, understanding how to effectively help women navigate this transition is essential.
This workshop bridges the gap between hormonal understanding and evidence-based psychological strategies. Using the powerful tools of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), you’ll learn how to support women through menopause and perimenopause with practical, compassionate, and empowering approaches. From managing symptoms like hot flushes and anxiety to navigating identity shifts and values-based living, this training equips psychologists, coaches, and health professionals with tools to foster resilience, psychological flexibility, and wellbeing during this critical stage.
Background to the workshop
Menopause is a profound and transformative stage in a woman’s life, affecting millions globally, and presenting unique challenges often underestimated or misunderstood. Perimenopausal period can be equally difficult to diagnose and support, meaning it is often overlooked. The associated symptoms of menopause and perimenopause, include hot flushes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, cognitive fog, mood fluctuations, anxiety, weight gain, and chronic pain, can significantly affect daily life, work performance, relationships, and self-esteem.
Health practitioners, psychologists, and coaches frequently encounter clients experiencing menopause-related symptoms in the context of work stress, family dynamics, or general health concerns, often without the client realising that hormonal changes may be a contributing factor. Despite the widespread impact of menopause, many professionals feel ill-equipped to address it, often lacking a solid understanding of the hormonal, physiological, and psychological aspects of menopause, as well as the most effective psychological flexibility strategies to support women during this transition.
This workshop highlights the importance of an ACT-based approach to create a framework for acceptance, psychological flexibility, and empowerment—shifting the narrative from struggle to growth. This workshop offers practical tools to help women navigate physical, emotional, and cognitive challenges with greater ease, creating a mindset of acceptance and empowerment rather than resistance and struggle.
What you will gain from this workshop
Participants will gain a clear understanding of menopause and perimenopause, including hormonal changes, cognitive shifts, and the impact of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). We will also explore post-cancer menopause, where symptom management is often more complex.
By the end of this workshop, you will:
- Gain an understanding of healthy aging, menopause, and perimenopause, as well as premature menopause and the physical conditions that can cause it—such as primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) and menopause after cancer treatment.
- Develop an understanding of the physiological and cognitive effects of hormonal changes and develop skills to support women through this transition.
- Gain a basic understanding of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and other non-hormonal treatments- including current research, potential benefits and risks, and its impact on mental health and well-being. Learn how to apply ACT skills to support women facing complex dilemmas and treatment decisions.
- Learn how to apply ACT-based approaches to help clients effectively manage menopause, including:
- Use mindfulness, self-compassion, and values-based strategies to help clients navigate the physical and emotional changes of menopause.
- Support them in responding to symptoms such as hot flushes, brain fog, anxiety, genitourinary issues, and relationship challenges while staying connected to what matters and taking meaningful action
- Explore real-world case studies and discuss practical ways to integrate these approaches into clinical practice, coaching, and the workplace.
About this workshop
Dr. Natasha Lazareski is a medical doctor and expert in organisational health, psychosocial risk management, coaching, and experienced acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) practitioner. At PsyFlex, she uses ACT to enhance individual mental and physical health, leadership behaviours, and organisational culture. With over 30 years of experience across diverse sectors, she has delivered training, developed health management programs—including a chronic disease management program for the East London NHS Foundation Trust—and provided clinical supervision. Natasha has a special interest in supporting women through menopause and trains health professionals and leaders in effective, evidence-based approaches
The session structure will include:
- Mini lectures
- Case studies
- Experiential exercises
- Mindfulness practices
This combination of learning methods ensures that participants leave the workshop feeling equipped with practical tools and strategies to support women through menopause in a variety of contexts.
Who will benefit from this workshop?
This workshop is ideal for psychologists, coaches, health practitioners, HR professionals, and anyone supporting menopausal women, including those working in mental health, wellness coaching, women’s health, and occupational health. The content is suitable for beginner to intermediate-level professionals looking to expand their skill set in supporting menopause-related challenges.
Attendees are expected to have a basic working knowledge of ACT. We have a free on-demand introduction to ACT workshop available to help you prepare.
At the end of this 3 hour workshop you will be able to:
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- Describe the physiological, cognitive, and emotional changes associated with perimenopause and menopause.
- Apply Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) strategies to help women manage common menopause symptoms, including hot flushes, sleep disturbances, and mood fluctuations.
- Use mindfulness and self-compassion exercises to reduce symptom distress and improve emotional well-being.
- Teach values-based goal-setting and committed action techniques to help women maintain engagement in meaningful activities.
- Integrate cognitive defusion techniques to assist women in managing negative self-talk and shifting their perspective on menopause.
APA psychologists: This program is sponsored by Contextual Consulting and is approved for 3 CE credits for psychologists.
Nationally certified counselors: This workshop is available for 3 credit hours. Contextual Consulting Ltd. has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7578.
To find out more, including attendance requirements and how to access your certificate, go to our continuing education information page.
If you have disability and require adjustments or accommodation, please email us at admin@contextualconsulting.co.uk to discuss your needs and we will do our best to help you.
Booking cancellation
The registration fee will be refunded minus a administration charge if cancellations are received at least two weeks before the workshop date.
Cancellations within two weeks of the event date are charged the full registration fee, other than in exceptional circumstances that can be verified.
Event cancellation
In the event of cancellation of the course outside of our control we will not be held accountable for travel and/or accommodation costs incurred. However, the workshop fees will be refunded.
All workshops will be subject to minimum delegate numbers being met; in the event that a workshop should be cancelled delegates will be given no less than 2 months’ notice.
Replacing delegates
If a delegate is unable to attend and a replacement is nominated there may be a charge depending on the individual circumstances, this will be advised at the time. Please contact the us to request a replacement of delegates at least a week before the workshop date.
Contextual Consulting is committed to the identification and resolution of potential conflicts of interest in the planning, promotion, delivery, and evaluation of continuing education. Potential conflicts of interest occur when an individual assumes a professional role in the planning, promotion, delivery, or evaluation of continuing education where personal, professional, legal, financial, or other interests could reasonably be expected to impair their objectivity, competence, or effectiveness.
There was no commercial support for this event. None of the planners or presenters for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.