PANNY Spring Conference Event - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Mental Health Practice: A Practical Introduction

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Saturday, June 1, 2024 from 9:00 pm - 12:00 pm
(Registration and Breakfast at 8:30am)

Presented by John P. Forsyth, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology at the University at Albany, SUNY

Where: Hilton Garden Inn, 30 Clifton Country Road, Clifton Park, NY 12065 (next to Regal Cinemas at the mall)

Program Overview

All mental health professionals, including graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, are welcome. Familiarity with ACT is not required.

Acceptance and mindfulness-based practices are rapidly making their way into mental health care, medicine, and society both to alleviate human suffering and nurture psychological health and wellness. This body of work also offers a fresh perspective on psychological suffering and a set of powerful clinical strategies that support meaningful life changes. During this workshop, we will learn about one particular approach and set of practices based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (or ACT, said as one word); It is both a form of therapy and an approach to living well, with evidence (> 1000 RCTs) showing that it is useful for many forms of psychological and emotional suffering. In short, ACT aims to change how people relate with, and respond to, difficult and painful psychological and emotional content rather than changing thoughts and emotions directly.

This 3-hour workshop will introduce ACT, both as a model and intervention technology, and illustrate its use across a broad set of problem areas that are commonly seen in mental health settings (e.g., anxiety, depression, anger). Our time together will include a mix of didactic teachings and practical experiential exercises. The exercises will highlight the integration of mindfulness and acceptance strategies (along with kindness and compassion exercises) to disarm forms of human suffering and also to promote greater clarity of values and action in the service of living well.

About John P. Forsyth, Ph.D.

JOHN P. FORSYTH is Professor of Psychology at the University at Albany, SUNY, and Director of the Anxiety Disorders Research Program (ADRP) in Albany, NY. He is also a licensed clinical psychologist in New York, with expertise in the use and application of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for anxiety disorders and a range of other mental health concerns.

He received his B.A. in psychology from Providence College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from West Virginia University. He did his pre-doctoral internship training at the University of Mississippi Medical Center / Jackson VAMC Consortium, where he served as Chief Psychology Resident within the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior.

He has authored and co-authored over 100 articles, six books (many of which have been translated in other languages), several book chapters, routinely leads professional workshops on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy across the United States and abroad, and has presented hundreds of talks at professional meetings.

See Dr. Forsyth's full bio on his website.

The course learning objectives are:

1. Describe and conceptualize common mental health concerns (e.g., anxiety, depression) within an ACT framework;
2. Explain creative hopelessness and its purpose within ACT;
3. Explain the three pillars of ACT that guides its practice;
4. Explain each of the six ACT processes and interventions within the ACT model of human suffering (i.e. hexaflex model) to contextualize ACT intervention strategies and goals;
5. Explain ACT case conceptualization;
6. Demonstrate select ACT intervention exercises to cultivate psychological flexibility;
7. Describe strategies to foster ongoing development of ACT clinical competencies.

3 CE contact hours available for N.Y. State Licensed Psychologists

PANNY has partnered with the National Register of Health Service Psychologists to offer continuing education contact hours (NYSED) for this course.  The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PST-0010.

Feel free to reach out with any further questions to the PANNY Education Chair: Heidi Wright, Psy.D - HeidiRW@drwrightpsychologist.com.