Stretch toward psychological flexibility with acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
Presenter(s)
Catalin Fecior, OT Reg. (Ont.)
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and occupational therapy share a consistent body of philosophical assumptions and practical modalities of facilitating health and well-being. For example, both occupational therapy and ACT emphasize meaningful activity, values-based living, pragmatism, and health and the promotion of well-being. Soft and hard skills (concepts and interventions) that work transdiagnostically (Dindo et al., 2017) provide tools to address human suffering in an effective way (Hofmann et al., 2021). Learning ACT will expand the intervention options of occupational therapists to promote a life enriched by participation in meaningful roles and valued occupations, even in the presence of pain.
This one-day workshop will explore creative ways that occupational therapists can utilize various acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) processes to support their clients in living well. Throughout the workshop, connections will be drawn between ACT as an intervention and occupational therapy as a profession. ACT will be described and compared to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).  Foundational concepts and processes in ACT – including functional contextualism, pragmatism, creative hopelessness, workability, psychological flexibility, the Hexaflex model, acceptance, experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion and defusion, and contact with the present moment – will be explored and applied to occupational therapy practice. The structure of ACT sessions in single-session and multiple-session therapy will be outlined. Experiential exercises, metaphors, and small group discussions will be used throughout the workshop to support participants in applying the information from the workshop to their practice.
By the end of this workshop, you will be able to: Explain some basic ACT assumptions and philosophical foundations, including functional contextualism, pragmatism, ACT as a third wave CBT modality, and healthy normality vs. destructive normality. Apply the ACT Hexaflex to address psychopathology and promote well-being in occupational therapy. Promote psychological flexibility by using these six processes: acceptance, cognitive defusion, contact with the present moment, self as context, values clarification, and committed action. Use therapeutic metaphors to initiate and support healthy behavioural change as well as to facilitate occupational participation. Use the ACT Matrix process to conceptualize clinical presentations, and to promote and support healthy behavioural change in various health care settings.