Psychology 498 Introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Doing What Matters

Psychology 498

 

 

 

 

 

 

Module 1: Introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

 and Doing What Matters

Practice Booklet

 

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Seminar PSYC 498

 

 

Intended Audience & Purpose

 

• Audience: students interested in learning about the evidence for, structure of, and application of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

 

• Purpose
  • Describe the background and concepts involved in ACT.
  • Describe the evidence base for ACT.
  • Describe an ACT conceptual model.
  • Describe and experience how the six therapeutic processes can be applied to promote psychological flexibility.
  • Describe how ACT can be applied to a clinical case study.

 

• Please Note: The purpose of this seminar is to provide information about ACT, including its theory and how it may be applied. However, just taking one seminar will not provide the sufficient training necessary to know how to ethically and independently (i.e., without supervision on applying general principles to specific client/patient problems) deliver ACT-based interventions in clinical settings or to individuals with the intention of treating a diagnosed mental disorder. Students interested in using ACT to treat clients/patients should obtain supervised clinical training under ACT-trained clinicians.
  • As of July 16, 2019: 100+ ACT therapists located in Washington state: https://contextualscience.org/civicrm/profile?gid=17&reset=1&force=1
  • As of March 26, 2020: 2 ACT Trainers in Washington state: https://contextualscience.org/civicrm/profile?gid=20&reset=1&force=1

 

 

 

Introduction:

 

Questions to consider:

 

 

• What do you already know about ACT or what do you think ACT is?

 

 

 

• How would you define “mindfulness”?

 

 

 

 

• How would you describe the purpose of mindfulness?

 

• Conceptual ACT-based Models of Psychopathology and Wellbeing (Hayes, Pistorello, & Biglan, 2008)
• Wellbeing “Hexaflex”
• Pathology “Hexaflex”

Creative Hopelessness (Harris, 2009)

 

Three questions about attempts to get rid of unwanted thoughts and feelings:

1. What have you tried?
2. How has it worked?
3. What was the cost?

 

The simple idea: If one continues doing what has been done, then they will continue getting what they have always got.

 

Consider the following question: What are some messages you have heard about how people should deal with uncomfortable or unwanted thoughts and feelings?

 

 

 

 

Conceptual model of ACT: Simplified (Harris, 2009)

 

 

Do What Matters: Values & Committed Action (Harris, 2009)

 

Consider the following question: How would you define the phrase “personal value”?

Try Following the Directions in this Values exercise on this page, below:

 

 

Do What matters: Reflection

 

Consider taking some notes on the following (this may help you gather information you can use for the participation discussion post and/or the reflection assignment in Canvas):

 

• How easy or difficult was it for you to identify what sort of person you (or the individual in the case study) want to be in each of the major areas listed in The Bull’s Eye?

 

 

• On a scale from (not at all) 1-10 (extremely), how important is the area of Work/Education to you?

 

 

• On a scale from 1-10, how important is the area of Leisure to you?

 

 

• On a scale from 1-10, how important is the area of Relationships to you?

 

 

• On a scale from 1-10, how important is the area of Personal Growth/Health to you?

 

 

Optional Practice Materials: Values Identification & Committing to Valued Actions:

1. Values Card Sort

This is a very “classic” exercise to practice with clients who struggle with identifying which values they are committed to living consistently with. More specifically, this can be helpful with clients who…

1. Have become so detached from living in alignment with their values that they are numb and struggle with identifying what is important to them,
2. Believe that it is important to live according to (too) many values at once. Burning out or feeling overwhelmed by responsibility can be common in this clinical picture. Ironically, when fewer, specific values are selected and committed to, the other important values tend to follow in a more achievable, long-term fashion.
3. Struggle with choosing how to live. This person may recognize that there are several good options, yet also recognizes that everyone has limited time and capacity. Focusing on what matters most can be helpful.

Instructions:

(Note: This is the way I have found to work best with the most amount of clients. Just like mindfulness exercises, there are several ways that this exercise can be done.)

In general, the purpose of this card sort is to end up with 3-5 values that the individual considers “Very Important to Me.” If individuals have some idea about values that are very important to them, it may be more efficient to just select values that fit that category of importance. However, if it is unclear what personal values a person has, then it can be helpful to go through the entire list of values in the card sort and organize them into 3 piles: “Very Important to Me”, “Important to Me”, and “Not Important to Me.” Then, focus just on the “Very Important to Me” pile and try removing 1-3 cards at a time until 3-5 are selected.

Download the card sort (Miller, Baca, Matthews, & Wilbourne, 2001): file attached

 

2. Valued Living Questionnaire (VLQ)

 

Author: Kelly Wilson & Groom

 

The VLQ is an instrument that taps into 10 valued domains of living. These domains include: 1. Family, 2. Marriage/couples/intimate relations, 3. Parenting, 4. Friendship, 5. Work, 6. Education, 7. Recreation, 8. Spirituality, 9. Citizenship, and 10. Physical selfcare.

 

Scoring: Respondents are asked to rate the 10 areas of life on a scale of 1–10, indicating the level of importance and how consistently they have lived in accord with those values in the past week. For detailed information on scoring the VLQ see Wilson and Murrell (2004).

 

Reliability: The instrument has shown good test-retest reliability.

 

Validity: Currently being collected.

 

Reference: Wilson, K. G. & Groom, J. (2002). The Valued Living Questionnaire. Available from Kelly Wilson. Wilson, K. G. & Murrell, A. R. (2004). Values work in acceptance and commitment therapy: Setting a course for behavioral treatment. In S. C. Hayes, V. M. Follette, & M. M. Linehan (Eds.), Mindfulness and acceptance: Expanding the cognitive behavioral tradition (pp. 120-151). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

 

 

 

Valued Living Questionnaire

 

Below are areas of life that are valued by some people. We are concerned with your quality of life in each of these areas. One aspect of quality of life involves the importance one puts on different areas of living. Rate the importance of each area (by circling a number) on a scale of 1-10. 1 means that area is not at all important. 10 means that area is very important. Not everyone will value all of these areas or value all areas the same. Rate each area according to your own personal sense of importance.

 

Area                          not at all important                     extremely important

 

1. Family (other than marriage or parenting)    1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10

 

2. Marriage/couples/intimate relations  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
3. Parenting 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
4. Friends/social life 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
5. Work 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
6. Education/training 1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
7. Recreation/fun 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
8. Spirituality 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
9. Citizenship/Community Life 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
10. Physical self-care (diet, exercise, sleep) 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10

 

In this section, we would like you to give a rating of how consistent your actions have been with each of your values. We are not asking about your ideal in each area. We are also not asking what others think of you. Everyone does better in some areas than others. People also do better at sometimes than at others. We want to know how you think you have been doing during the past week. Rate each area (by circling a number) on a scale of 1-10. 1 means that your actions have been completely inconsistent with your value. 10 means that your actions have been completely consistent with your value.

 

 

 

 

During the past week

 

Area           not at all consistent with my value    completely consistent with my value

 

1. Family (other than marriage or parenting) 1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10

 

2. Marriage/couples/intimate relations 1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
3. Parenting 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
4. Friends/social life 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
5. Work 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
6. Education/training 1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
7. Recreation/fun 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
8. Spirituality 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
9. Citizenship/Community Life 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10
10. Physical self-care (diet, exercise, sleep) 1 2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10

 

 

3. Committed Action Questionnaire (CAQ-8)