Acceptance and commitment therapy for depression
Going deeper into the processes to lift the inertia and move forward with purpose
You will have access to the recording for 6 months.
When clients get deeply stuck in depression, they will understandably feel hopeless and helpless, avoid meaningful activity and ruminate excessively. It can be hard as a therapist to stay on track and persist. We can end up struggling to engage our clients in building psychological flexibility successfully and maintaining flexibility ourselves. The more we try to help, the more we encounter the same stuck behavioural patterns. Our energy levels and confidence in our abilities can drain quickly, leaving us feeling uncertain, frustrated and ineffectual.
If you find yourself engaging in behaviours such as working excessively hard in session, disconnecting from the client, or sitting back and letting them talk then know that you are not alone. These are all perfectly reasonable responses to an entrenched situation.
Often, these are good indicators that we need to go deeper into ACT processes. By staying close to the functional contextual roots of ACT, you develop the skills to make room for curiosity, appreciating people as they are here and now and connecting with flexibility and wholeheartedness. This workshop is about how to build your skills to do just that, whilst at the same time holding yourself with kindness and warmth as you do this difficult work.
In this workshop, ACBS peer-reviewed ACT Trainer, Jim Lucas, will show you how to sit inside the ACT processes, embodying them and inviting your client to do the same.
You’ll learn how to:
- Notice verbal and non-verbal responses indicative of emotional numbing (demonstration and role-play practice)
- Take a grounded, humble and compassionate stance to create a context that undermines self-criticism and learned helplessness (experiential exercises)
- Regain attentional control by bringing awareness to the emotional experiences otherwise blocked by depressive patterns (experiential exercises).
- Encourage a client to allow and describe their emotions to lift the fog of depression (role-play practice).
- Bring awareness and compassion to negatively-framed self-stories to engender hope (reflective writing exercise).
- Engage clients in positive emotional spirals to create sustainable life patterns (role-play and worksheet completion)
By using taught material, experiential methods, demonstration, role-play practice, and reflective writing, delegates will deepen their ACT knowledge and skills to enhance their work with depressed clients.
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.
APA psychologists: This program is sponsored by Contextual Consulting and is approved for 6 CE credits for psychologists.
Nationally certified counselors: This workshop is available for 6 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.