Values in ACT: A masterclass series with Dr Jenna LeJeune and Dr Jason Luoma. Session 1

Recorded Webinar – Session 1

Presenters: Dr Jenna LeJeune and Dr Jason Luoma.

Values work is the coming together of the art of ACT work and the science of behaviorism. It’s where the rubber  hits the road in helping clients make meaningful changes in their lives. By the nature of the content, values work is heartfelt and laden with meaning the purpose. But it can also be the most complex components of an ACT intervention. Join world renown ACT experts and authors of the popular textbook Values in Therapy,  Dr Jenna LeJeune and Dr Jason Luoma as they take you through this series of Masterclass workshops to help you enhance your values work to create powerful values-based interventions to create lasting and meaningful change.

Each workshop will be deeply interactive, and use a combination of didactic presentation, demonstration, and participant practice.

Participants will be expected to already have a solid foundation of some of the core concepts of the values process in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

Session 1: Letting values guide the way: A values-guided approach to ACT

Values are often described as one of the core processes in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). But what does it look like when values take centre stage? In this workshop we’ll be covering what it means to practice from a values-guided perspective, including how this may inform assessment and treatment planning, as well as how it may impact a therapist’s behaviour in the room. We will also discuss how to introduce values to clients in the informed consent process. This session is designed to give people a deeper understanding of values and provide them with practical tools for making values a more integral part of their work.

Session 2: Values prototyping: Helping clients explore their values through action

Helping clients explore their values and connect with what is most meaningful is an essential component of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). While in-session values conversations and various values measures can be important parts of values exploration, sometimes the best learning comes through doing. In this workshop, participants will learn about and practice using one specific experiential tool called “values prototyping” that helps clients learn more about their values through engaging in intentional valuing.

This session will dive into how to use values prototyping to help clients learn more about what they would choose to value in their life.

Session 3: Values stuck points: When psychological inflexibility creates barriers to valued living

It’s often hard to know what is most important. It’s harder still to hold on to that knowledge, especially in times of fear and suffering. This workshop will focus on some of the most common barriers that arise as clients begin exploring their values. Knowing how to work with these values stuck points can be a challenge even for very experienced clinicians. Designed for practitioners who already have some familiarity in working with values from an ACT perspective, this interactive workshop will help participants conceptualise common values stuck points in terms of psychological flexibility process. Through practice and role play, participants will also work on developing the skills needed to effectively deal with these values challenges when they emerge.

About Your Speakers

Jenna LeJeune, Ph.D. is President and co-founder of Portland Psychotherapy Clinic, Research and Training Center in Portland, Oregon. As a licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. LeJeune is deeply interested in issues of meaning, purpose, and values. In her clinical practice, Dr. LeJeune specialises in using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help those she serves connect with what is most meaningful so that they are able to live lives of purpose and integrity even in the midst of suffering. She is the co-author of the book Values in Therapy: A Clinician’s Guide to Helping Clients Develop Psychological Flexibility and Live a More Meaningful Life as well as numerous other book chapters, journal articles, and other publications largely focused on issues related to values, meaning, self-compassion, and shame. Dr. LeJeune is also a peer-reviewed ACT trainer and provides ACT trainings for professionals around the world.

Jason Luoma, Ph.D., is CEO of Portland Psychotherapy in Portland, OR. His research focuses on shame, self-stigma, connection, self-compassion and the application of ACT and psychedelic assisted therapy to shame and self-criticism. He is currently organising a clinical of MDMA-assisted therapy for social anxiety disorder that will be one of the first trials of psychedelic assisted therapy in the Pacific Northwest. He also recently organized a special section on psychedelic assisted therapy and contextual behavioural science. He is an internationally recognised trainer in ACT, former chair of the ACT training committee, and past president of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. He has over 60 publications including co-authoring two books:  Learning Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Values in Therapy: A Clinician’s Guide to Helping Clients Explore Values, Increase Psychological Flexibility, and Live a More Meaningful Life. His work on shame and compassion can be read at www.actwithcompassion.com.