Functional analysis for ACT practitioners
Key skills in case conceptualisation
Functional analysis is considered the core foundation of a gold standard evidenced-based psychological intervention. A robust functional analysis can enhance your practice by:
- Amplifying the effectiveness of your intervention
- Shortening the duration of your intervention
- Increasing client engagement as they gain a better grasp of the issue (Rummel, Garrison-Diehn, Catlin, & Fisher, 2012).
However, many ACT practitioners may feel uncertain about this aspect of the model, fearing it may be too complex to grasp. As a result, practitioners can commonly describe the problem at hand, but struggle to articulate how it functions and why it persists. To effectively utilise psychological flexibility processes (such as defusion, willingness, values, committed action, self as context, and present moment awareness), an understanding the fundamental elements of context, behaviour, and consequences, and their interconnectedness is crucial.
What you will learn
For ACT practitioners aiming to enhance their proficiency in conducting functional analyses, we highly recommend this on-demand event. Dr Ray Owen will guide you through a workshop that provides a solid foundation in functional analysis (as applied within ACT) and the underlying learning theory. The emphasis is on leveraging this knowledge to become more effective and supportive in your practice. The training program is highly engaging, informative, and practical, and provides a package in which technical terms explained in accessible ways and practical tools provided for immediate implementation.
Ray includes extensive excerpts from clinical sessions to demonstrate proficient use of functional analysis in both assessment and intervention phases. The workshop comprises 6 modules, allowing you to progress at your own pace.
Who will benefit from this workshop
This training is for anyone who uses ACT in their practice: psychologists, therapists, coaches, medics and counsellors.
In this training, Ray assumes a working knowledge of the ACT model but not necessarily prior familiarity with functional analysis or behaviourism learning theory basics. We have a free on-demand introduction to ACT workshop available to help you prepare.
Program overview
Module 1 Introduction
Why ABCs matter
Module 2 Understanding principles
ABCs in more detail
Symbolic learning
Module 3 Fit with other areas of CBS
Functional analysis and the matrix
Functional analysis and the choice point
Functional analysis and FAP
Functional analysis and relational frame theory
Module 4 Using it in your work
Functional analysis to make sense of problems
Functional analysis to drive an intervention
Module 5 A worked example by Ray
Module 6 Final tips and takeaways
Key suggestions to take forward
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.
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.
This program is sponsored by Contextual Consulting and is approved for CE credits for psychologists. To find out more, including attendance requirements and how to access your certificate, go to our continuing education information page.
At the end of the workshop you will be able to :
- bring a deeper understanding of human learning processes into your ACT work
- more effectively gather relevant information during assessment
- develop working formulations that help both you and the client understand what is going on and offer a basis for how to intervene (using your existing ACT skills)
- build stronger links between in-session work and life outside the clinic room
- Ramnerö, J., & Törneke, N. (2008). The ABCs of Human Behavior : Behavioral Principles for the Practicing Clinician. New Harbinger Publications.
- Villatte, M., Villatte, J. L., & Hayes, S. C. (2016). Mastering the clinical conversation : language as intervention. The Guilford Press.
- Törneke, N. . (2021). Clinical functional analysis and the process of change. Perspectivas Em Análise Do Comportamento, 12(1), 075–093. https://doi.org/10.18761/PAC.2021.v12.RFT.01
- Polk, K. L., Schoendorff, B., Webster, M., & Olaz, F. O. (2016). The essential guide to the ACT matrix : a step-by-step approach to using the ACT matrix model in clinical practice. Context Press, an imprint of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.