The self and parts in ACT
Experiential methods for self-as-context
Many clients struggle with difficult relationships with themselves, such as harsh self-criticism, inner conflict, or feeling pulled in different directions.
In therapy, this often shows up as different “parts”, for example a critical voice, an anxious part that wants to avoid, or another part pushing hard to cope or perform.
In ACT, we aim to help clients step back from these experiences through self-as-context. However, many practitioners find it hard to move beyond talking about thoughts and feelings, and into something more experiential and effective in the room.
This workshop centres on the ACT DEPOT method (Differentiate, Enact, Process, Observe, Transform), a structured framework for working step by step with parts and their functions. You will learn how to:
- help clients separate and distinguish between different parts of their experience
- bring these parts into the room in a clear and tangible way including chairwork and enactment
- support clients to step into an observing perspective and relate more flexibly to what shows up
- transform the “self-to-part” relationship through a compassionate functional analysis
You’ll see demonstrations, take part in exercises, and practise the method in pairs, so you leave with skills you can use straight away.
Background to the workshop
Working with the “self” is central to many difficulties clients bring to therapy, from rigid self-judgements to feeling overwhelmed by internal experiences or caught between competing inner pulls. ACT offers a powerful model of self-as-context, yet without clear ways to bring it to life in practice, this process can remain abstract.
Approaching these experiences as “parts” offers a practical way forward. By helping clients differentiate between parts, give them space, and explore the relationships between them, therapists can support meaningful shifts in how clients respond, without needing to challenge or eliminate the content itself.
This workshop integrates these experiential approaches with ACT, grounded in relational frame theory (RFT), while keeping a strong focus on what actually happens moment-to-moment in therapy.
What you will gain from this workshop
You will leave with:
- A clearer, more usable understanding of self-as-context, and how it comes alive when working with parts
- A structured method (DEPOT) for guiding work with parts in session
- Skills in helping clients differentiate, contact, and relate differently to parts of their experience
- Greater confidence in organically facilitating defusion and acceptance via perspective-taking and metaphor
- Ways to link this work to values and yearnings, so clients can move towards what matters rather than getting stuck in inner struggle
About this workshop
The workshop combines teaching with experiential learning. Participants will engage in demonstrations, guided exercises, and practice in pairs to build confidence in using the DEPOT method.
There will be a strong focus on moment-to-moment therapeutic process, helping participants translate ACT concepts into practical, usable interventions. The aim is to provide a clear and flexible approach that can be integrated into a range of clinical settings.
Lou has been facilitating ACT, mindfulness and integrative mental health workshops since 2012, and his sessions have a reputation for being practical, heartfelt and grounded in real clinical application. As ACBS Training Committee Chair and a Peer-Reviewed ACT Trainer, he brings both depth of practice and a strong eye for what actually helps clinicians in the room.
Who will benefit from this workshop?
This workshop is designed for psychologists, therapists, and other mental health professionals with an interest in ACT.
It is particularly suited to clinicians who:
- Want more practical ways to shape self-as-context repertoires
- Work with clients who experience strong inner conflict or self-criticism
- Are interested in using experiential methods, such as chairwork and enactment, to bring therapy to life
Some familiarity with ACT will be helpful, but the workshop focuses on building practical skills that can be applied across different levels of experience.
Continuing education credits are available both for attending the live workshop and for completing the workshop by viewing the recording of the live event.
APA psychologists: This program is sponsored by Contextual Consulting and is approved for 4 CE credits for psychologists. Contextual Consulting is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Contextual Consulting maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Nationally certified counselors: This workshop is available for 4 credit hours. Contextual Consulting Ltd. has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7578.
New York psychologists: This program is sponsored by Contextual Consulting and is approved for 4 CE credits for psychologists. Contextual Consulting is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0316.
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.
References
García-Zambrano, S., Rehfeldt, R. A., Hertel, I. P., & Boehmert, R. (2019). Effects of deictic framing and defusion on the development of self-as-context in individuals with disabilities. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 12, 55-58.
López-López, J. C., & Luciano, C. (2017). An experimental analysis of defusion interactions based on deictic and hierarchical framings and their impact on cognitive performance. The Psychological Record, 67, 485-497.
McHugh, L., Stewart, I., & Almada, P. (2019). A contextual behavioral guide to the self: Theory and practice. New Harbinger Publications.
Moran, O., & McHugh, L. (2019). Patterns of relational responding and a healthy self in older adolescents. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science.
Montoya-Rodríguez, M. M., Molina, F. J., & McHugh, L. (2017). A review of relational frame theory research into deictic relational responding. The Psychological Record, 67, 569-579.
Moser, J. S., Dougherty, A., Mattson, W. I., Katz, B., Moran, T. P., Guevarra, D., ... & Kross, E. (2017). Third-person self-talk facilitates emotion regulation without engaging cognitive control: Converging evidence from ERP and fMRI. Scientific reports, 7(1), 4519.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Analyse the ‘Self’ through an RFT lens: Define self-as-context as a functional repertoire of deictic (I/You, Here/There, Now/Then) and hierarchical framing.
- Operationalise the DEPOT Method: Describe the five steps of the DEPOT method and how they are used to foster defusion, self-as-context, and acceptance.
- Facilitate perspective-taking via chairwork: Demonstrate how to use spatial positioning and deictic inquiry to evoke "transformations of function," allowing clients to respond more flexibly to difficult "parts" of ‘Self’.
- Bridge process with purpose: Integrate interventions that harness the client’s innate yearnings and freely chosen values to fuel the DEPOT transformation process.