Praxis Continuing Education and Training

ACT Immersion

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Learn ACT from Dr. Steven C. Hayes over 10 Modules, including 16 hours of videos, written materials, clinical demonstrations and tapes, and audio exercises

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Improve your clients’ long-term outcomes and see change happen with

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

A PROCESS-BASED THERAPY

From the desk of Dr. Steven C. Hayes
Reno, Nevada

Dear friend,

As therapists, we share the exciting goal of helping clients deal with adversity and foster lives of greater prosperity.

This is a huge undertaking as well as a tremendous privilege...

And it comes with challenges, not the least of which is this question:

Are our clients actually getting better?

If were honest with ourselves, so far we have had to answer: we dont know!

Its difficult to judge the effectiveness of our work amid the complexities of real-life, multivariate therapy situations.

Any practitioner can remember a time when a session went very well, ending with sincere thanks from the client… but despite that sincere praise, the client ultimately sank deeper into the problems we thought had been addressed.

Conversely, its possible for your work with a client to appear unsuccessful on the surface, only to receive a letter several years later from the same person crediting you with their subsequent positive transformation.

All of this means, in psychological intervention, something is going on at a deeper level — beyond the surface content, beyond the praise of a client, and beyond how smoothly a session goes.

Satisfying Our Desire to Help Our Clients

To combat this uncertainty and to satisfy our desire to help our clients, more and more practitioners have moved to evidence-based therapy forms.

Knowing that a protocol has been tested with a specific syndrome or population gives us at least some reassurance that we are helping.

However, while the promise of evidence-based protocols has been appealing, it can lead to a by the book approach that can feel restrictive and undermine clinical creativity. As any therapist can attest, following these protocols still doesnt always guarantee long-term results or make it easier for us to know how a client is doing.

To understand how we ended up in a protocol-dominated therapy world and to illuminate an exciting new path forward, lets take a look at a little bit of history...

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“Medicalizing” Human Psychology

Over the last half-century of psychology theory, weve tried to adapt to the modern world as a community of mental and behavioral health practitioners by medicalizing human suffering.

This means we got good at categorizing people into syndromes and subsyndromes. The DSM-5 has ballooned into nearly 1,000 pages of diagnosable disorders and conditions, and subsequent reported rates for mental disorders have skyrocketed across all populations.

To treat this wandering target of syndromes and subsyndromes, we (as a field and set of professions) created a corresponding path for producing evidence-based therapies that looks something like this:

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Come up with a treatment concept for a specific condition (such as generalized anxiety disorder)

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Turn it into a protocol for that condition

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Test it in controlled studies with a group of such patients and demonstrate symptom reduction

In spite of our best intentions, however, this medicalized approach hasnt paid off.

The burden of mental and behavioral health problems has only grown, effect sizes have stagnated, and we still dont really know if our clients have improved.

All too often this leaves us feeling stuck and shooting blind because we have only limited ways of knowing whether the protocols were using are making any difference on an individual basis.

But if syndrome-based protocols leave us feeling confined and are not even producing the results they promise, what should we do instead?

Of course we are able to apply our intuition and relational connectivity to our client interactions, even without a scientific framework.

But in order to provide therapy with lasting impact, we need underlying scientific guidance to give direction and greater certainty to our creative therapy endeavors… which leads us to the big question:

Is there an evidence-based alternative to stringent protocols?

I first asked this question nearly 40 years ago...

In 1982, we did the same thing every other evidence-based therapy school did.

We had a couple of new ideas. We generated therapy protocols. We tested them and found that they worked.

Instead of rushing them out the door, however, we file-drawered most of the studies and invested the next couple of decades in a different strategy — one we felt would be much more widely applicable and that now decades later has allowed us to finally move beyond protocols and syndromes:

We looked at the changes that were taking place when people were actually getting better, not at a surface level, but at a deeper level of the underlying processes.

During therapy, a lot may be going on, but we found that what really matters is improvement in a small handful of core processes of change.

It is changes in these processes that accurately predict long-term outcomes.

Even more encouraging was the ultimate realization that, by looking at the processes, we could go beyond diagnosing syndromes and assigning protocols.

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Looking at Processes Versus Syndromes

When referring to processes of change we mean predictable, empirically-established sequences of modifiable biopsychosocial events that lead toward desirable client outcomes in a dynamic, progressive, and multilevel way.

To show the benefit and simplicity of looking at the processes rather than only at symptoms, lets compare the two approaches.

For example, a group of people who share the same surface-level problem (such as anxiety) might share the same kinds of symptoms, but the processes at the root of their respective difficulties might be completely different, such as being overly fused with certain thoughts, or avoiding anxiety-inducing stimuli, or losing touch with the present moment and constantly being pulled into worries about the future or replays of past negative experiences.

Conversely, several clients might all struggle with the same underlying process (such as an unwillingness to experience unpleasant emotions), which might manifest as a wide variety of surface-level symptoms (such as addiction, workaholism, or an eating disorder).

Thats why a protocol for an eating disorder sometimes works, because it happens to address the right underlying processes for one person, but the same protocol applied to another person might fail because it doesnt address the right underlying process for that individual.

The 6 Core Flexibility Processes

We ultimately identified 6 core psychological flexibility processes which could be directly addressed through therapy to produce dependable lasting effects. These psychological processes in turn were nested within biological and social/cultural levels (each of which also contain change processes).

At the psychological level the more of these flexibility processes a person exhibits, the better they will do in the long run.

These 6 processes are:

Acceptance

The inverse of experiential avoidance, acceptance involves the active and aware embrace of experiences without unnecessary attempts to change their frequency or form. Acceptance (like its partner, defusion) in ACT is not an end in itself, but is fostered as a method of increasing values-based action.

Defusion

Defusion attempts to change the way an individual interacts with (or relates to) thoughts by creating contexts in which we can look at thoughts instead of from thoughts. This allows their unhelpful functions to be diminished. Using a wide variety of techniques, defusion can be used to help a person separate their innate identity from their thoughts.

Present Moment

The desired end of present moment work is to experience the world inside and out more directly, and to allocate attention to what the present moment contains flexibly, fluidly, and voluntarily. This goal is reached by contemplative methods and training in attentional flexibility that support ongoing non-judgemental contact with psychological and environmental events as they occur.

Contextualized Self

Human language leads to a sense of self as a locus of perspective and provides a transcendent, spiritual, socially-interconnected side to human awareness. This sense of self is important, in part, because it fosters all of the other flexibility processes and provides a sense of belonging and connection that empowers our life journey.

Values

Values are chosen qualities of purposeful action that cannot be obtained as an object but can be only instantiated moment-by-moment. Life directions in various areas (such as family, spirituality, career, etc.) can be chosen, undermining avoidant, compliant, or judgmental forms of motivation that are weakly linked to real behavior change.

Committed Action

Developing ever-increasing patterns of values-based action is the ultimate goal of ACT. Whenever behavior change efforts lead to contact with psychological barriers (e.g. becoming experientially avoidant or fused with certain thoughts) they can be addressed through other ACT flexibility processes. As a result, concrete goals that are values-consistent can be achieved more readily.

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The Hexaflex diagram illustrates the 6 core flexibility processes

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When You See the Processes Move...

Over the years we developed concepts and measures that focus on these processes. We found that learning to see and address these 6 processes will enable you to see change happen in real time and know that it matters, not just because your client praises your work or because symptom reductions take place, but because youve actually seen the processes move.

And after 20 years of research, studies have now shown that working to move these underlying processes has far greater breadth than only working on specific surface-level conditions or syndromes. When flexibility processes move, good outcomes follow.

The approach based on addressing these processes came to be known as acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

ACT is based on the 6 psychological flexibility processes outlined above which, when implemented by clients, consistently help them to do better in the long run.

By addressing the underlying processes directly, we can individualize treatment and see whether a person is improving based on watching the processes move. That means also that we can be more confident about when treatment has produced lasting effects.

ACT has developed into a huge global movement encompassing tens of thousands of therapists, and along with related approaches has transformed the way we conduct therapy.

The movement is producing a tremendous body of research: we have passed 800 randomized trials in a total of over 5,000 studies.

Now, thats a huge body of work, but whats really important about it is what it suggests: these processes of change, these liberation processes, are what makes the difference in human lives.

Why Therapists and Clients Love ACT

Therapists and practitioners from all walks of life are embracing ACT, and for a variety of reasons.

Humanists enjoy being able to use many parts of their existing arsenal while having an evidence-based foundation, CBT practitioners are excited to implement work in values in their practice, applied health professionals see how flexibility processes can alter how they talk to clients…

...And many others feel particularly drawn to the focus on mindfulness and the integration of wisdom traditions.

In total, there are 6 main reasons why therapists are drawn to it and why clients love it.

1. It works with virtually any effective intervention form.
Once you understand the change processes, youll understand when other therapies work and when they dont, so you can use them more flexibly and continue to use many of the intervention forms with which you are experienced. You can also be more creative and have more fun in your work. This means that you dont have to abandon what you already know works well; instead, you can refine and use it even more effectively and with a better understanding of why it works.

2. It allows you to see how your clients are improving.
Seeing in real-time how clients are improving places you in a position where your clients become your teachers, because you can try different things and watch those evidence-based processes move — and if they move substantially, we know the long-term outcomes are likely to be good.

3. It applies to you personally.
ACT is based on the psychology of the normal, and last time I checked, therapists and practitioners are people, too. It is an empirical fact that those who learn how to employ ACT and apply it to themselves experience lower professional burnout and a higher sense of personal accomplishment. They feel personally uplifted as well as professionally empowered to bring all of the things that they already know into an evidence-based model.

4. It resonates with clients.
Therapists routinely report that incorporating ACT into their existing practices changes the way they interact, and their clients take notice. Not only are clients experiencing transformative results from the approach, they are even teaching others in their circles about what they have learned. For these reasons, it isnt unusual for therapists who use ACT to become highly sought-after.

5. It helps with almost every major psychological issue.
Unlike so many protocols that are tied to specific symptom presentations, ACT is applicable to virtually all people regardless of circumstances, culture, or complaint. The processes that were targeting are relevant to human prosperity and are based on a decades-long program to unravel the human mind. Anywhere that humans go, their minds go with them, so if you know how the mind gets in the way and how to unlock that problem, you will likely be able to help the individual regardless of their defining external symptoms.

6. It frees your clients from getting “stuck.”
Because you are addressing underlying processes rather than following a prescribed protocol, you will know what to do if it seems like your client is hitting a wall in therapy… just switch to working on one of the other underlying processes, and keep trying new things until you see the processes move. There is no reason ever to feel stuck again.

As you can see, there are many reasons why ACT has gone far beyond the purview of its original founders (including me!) and has become a vibrant movement with a life of its own, with a vibrant community of practitioners all around the world.

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How to Learn ACT

Over the last two decades, Ive taught ACT to people at workshops all over the world, and have taken part in hundreds of studies demonstrating its efficacy.

I have concluded learning ACT consists of four parts:

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Experience the impact of flexibility processes in your own life

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Understand the theoretical and philosophical foundations of the ACT model

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Learn to identify the flexibility processes and read them in a persons behavior

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Gain the practical skills to use ACT methods as well as methods you already know to make the processes move

In the past, the only way to be trained by me in ACT as a process-based approach was through in-person workshops or by joining my lab.

With this online course, ACT Immersion, practitioners from around the world will be able to benefit from what Ive learned over these decades about how to learn ACT, independent of location or travel availability.

The course is designed around the four principles outlined above, which means by going through the course, you will personally experience the impact of the flexibility processes, understand the basis of the ACT model, learn to identify and read the processes of change, and lastly, gain proficiency in applying the techniques to make the processes move in real therapy contexts.

The Result of 40 Years of Work

ACT started with a small team in my small lab nearly 40 years ago. That small team eventually had a hand in changing the trajectory of evidence-based intervention.

Some things that seemed geeky at the time (e.g., the philosophy of functional contextualism, developing a parallel basic science of cognition called Relational Frame Theory or RFT when we needed basic science to help refine processes of change) I can now see have been fundamental in moving ACT practice and research forward.

In a sense, as I wind down my academic career, Im inviting you to become an honorary lab member and to benefit from what Ive learned over these decades about how to learn ACT. Every step of the way I will do my best to help you benefit.

Please read on for the details about the course — Id love to have you take part.

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About Steven C. Hayes

Steven C. Hayes is a Nevada Foundation Professor in the Behavior Analysis program at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada. He is also the author of 45 books and over 625 scientific articles and a co-founder of acceptance and commitment therapy.

Dr. Hayes has been President of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, among other scientific groups. His work has been recognized by several awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the Impact of Science on Application Award from the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he is one of the most cited psychologists in the world.

Introducing...

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Learn how to use acceptance and commitment therapy from Dr. Steven C. Hayes, one of the movements initial co-founders and leading ongoing propagators.

Over 10 online modules, with more than 16 hours of video material and extensive supplemental learning materials, course participants will learn how to read the 6 psychological flexibility processes and target them with a wide range of exercises. Dr. Hayes demonstrates first-hand how to effectively and skillfully apply ACT through clinical tapes, experiential exercises, and clinical demonstrations — unscripted conversations about real-life scenarios.

After completing this course, practitioners will have a clear understanding of the underlying processes of change and the ability to see and identify them using the Hexaflex model. This will allow you to flexibly and creatively apply ACT in your own practice and use your existing therapy arsenal even more effectively to create lasting impact for your clients.

Course Format

In the early days of ACT, training opportunities were purely experiential because of the personally relevant nature of the therapy form.

In creating a course that is completed entirely online, great care was taken to not only facilitate theoretical learning, but also to foster an emotionally relevant personal experience for every participant.

Thats why the core of the course consists of recordings from a special live event, hosted for the purpose of course content creation. The event was a unique, three-day workshop with a group of 30 mental health professionals.

This means that as you are watching, you will be able to be touched by the exercises as presented, feel the energy of the room, and see in real time how certain stories and exercises land. Its this direct and personal experience of the impact of psychological flexibility that will subsequently allow you to apply these methods more effectively in your practice.

Course content and materials are in English, and all videos will include subtitle options in English and Spanish.

Course Structure

The course is designed to facilitate self-paced, online learning. The 10 modules will be released at a rate of one module per week, but you are welcome to go through the material at a more leisurely pace, as your schedule permits. With lifetime access to all course material, you are under no obligation to rush through it and will be able to access the material anytime in the future.

The first three modules of the course will lay the groundwork for understanding the theory behind ACT: understanding the model as well as an expansion of the model into core yearnings and pivots — a unique take Dr. Hayes developed by considering the evolutionary origins of flexibility processes.

In Modules 4-9, you will learn about each of the 6 core processes. In each of these Core Process modules, where applicable, youll learn:

  • Which underlying human yearnings are driving each process (giving you an even deeper understanding of these processes and opportunities to inspire change)
  • How to creatively pivot from inflexibility to flexibility
  • Basic data about the human condition as it pertains to the core processes
  • Experiential techniques and exercises to address each of the processes
  • How to assess and read movement of these processes — allowing you to clearly see when a client is beginning to change in front of you
  • How to integrate each exercise and technique into the therapeutic relationship
  • How to socially extend work in each core process from the individual to a larger social context

Finally, in Module 10 you will get insights and practical tools for applying ACT in your practice and guidance around case conceptualization.

Course Curriculum

Module 1: Introducing ACT

  • Why a process-based approach like ACT is more effective than protocols for syndromes
  • The psychological flexibility model
  • ACTs roots in evolutionary science

Module 2: Core Yearnings

  • The ACT conceptual toolkit (including RFT)
  • Understanding the 6 core human yearnings
  • How our attempts to meet those core yearnings can trap us in psychological inflexibility

Module 3: Pivots

  • The Pivot concept: moving from psychological inflexibility to flexibility
  • The 6 core ACT pivots
  • Pain of presence/absence

Module 4: Transcendent Self

  • Noticing consciousness
  • Yearning for consistency
  • The foundation of our sense of self, and of transcendence and spirituality
  • The processes of pivoting from aloneness to greater connection with self and others

Module 5: Defusion

  • Why we so often live in our own heads, including the role language plays
  • Exercises and techniques to help our clients look at thoughts, not from thoughts
  • Cognitive flexibility

Module 6: Acceptance

  • How a desire to feel good can foster avoidance of feelings
  • Learning to instead live well
  • The importance of willingness
  • Guidelines for safe and effective ACT exposure work with clients

Module 7: Present Moment

  • How language and the mind can pull our attention from the present
  • Ways to increase attentional flexibility
  • Adopting a wowfulness mode of mind

Module 8: Values

  • The distinction between values and goals
  • The importance of holding values lightly but pursuing them passionately
  • Helping clients find their direction

Module 9: Committed Action

  • The critical role of taking committed action in working toward values
  • The need to make a commitment to behavior change even in the face of what you struggle with
  • Ways to maintain a trajectory in line with values

Module 10: Case Conceptualization

  • A matrix to use for case conceptualization
  • Network analysis of cases using ACT principles
  • About the therapeutic relationship in ACT

Each module includes video instruction, written material, and exercises in various formats as applicable.

Course Sample

The video content for the course, comprising more than 16 hours of instruction, was produced using the highest quality video and audio standards, as you can see in the following brief excerpt:

Supplemental Learning Material

In addition to the 10 course modules, you will also get access to the following supplemental learning materials, incorporated at relevant intervals throughout the course:

Bonus #1: 4+ hours of Clinical Demonstrations

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Bonus #1: 4+ hours of Clinical Demonstrations

These demonstrations were filmed during the Los Angeles event, with Dr. Hayes leading the "sessions" and attendees participating in the role of the clients. Unlike roleplays that are often used for teaching purposes, nothing in the conversations was scripted — they are genuine and unpracticed, allowing you to watch ACT principles and techniques applied effectively in real-life scenarios.

In each case, Dr. Hayes will also provide a debriefing, so you will be able to understand his reads and reasons as he notices flexibility issues emerge (which then feed into his choice of intervention strategies).

Bonus #2: Director’s Cut of APA Tape

This video recording from 2007 documents a single therapy session conducted by Dr. Hayes, bringing ACT methods to his work with a young woman who was dealing with a number of difficulties related to complicated grieving. You will watch her evident inner-transformation as her underlying processes move during the session as well as hear commentary from Dr. Hayes about the techniques he used and what details to pay close attention to. (Due to copyright regulations this bonus is only available for Mental Health professionals or Mental Health professionals in training, broadly defined.)

Bonus #2: Director’s Cut of APA Tape

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Bonus #3: Audio ACT Exercises

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Bonus #3: Audio ACT Exercises

In these audio recordings, Dr. Hayes leads you through various exercises by voice so that you can relax, focus, and experience the exercise benefits without having to facilitate them yourself based on written instructions. Once you become deeply familiar by using them for your own work, youll be able to use them with your clients as well.

Bonus #4: Module-by-Module Q&A Videos

To help you with questions you may have while going through the course, Dr. Hayes created a series of videos with detailed answers to the questions most frequently asked by course members. Each module of the course has a dedicated video to address any lingering questions you may have about the corresponding lessons in order to help you better absorb the material and prepare for the following module.

Bonus #4: Module-by-Module Q&A Videos

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CEs

Upon completion of the core course content and supplemental materials, plus evaluations as required, participants will also be eligible for 24 CE hours approved for the following professionals:

Counselors
Psychologists
Social Workers
Nurses
Physicians
Behavior Analysts
Substance Abuse Counselors
National Counselors

Prior to registering, please review complete CE information by clicking here: CE Details

Enroll in ACT Immersion

When you enroll in the course, you get lifetime access to all course materials.

What’s included:

  • 10 in-depth modules
  • 16+ hours of video instruction
  • Video subtitle options in English and Spanish
  • Extensive exercises
  • Written course materials
  • Bonus #1: 4 Hours of Clinical Demonstrations
  • Bonus #2: Directors Cut APA Tape
  • Bonus #3: Audio ACT Exercises
  • Bonus #4: Module-by-Module Q&A Videos

To join, select one of the following options:

A one-time payment of
$629 (USD)

OR

6 monthly payments of
$129 (USD)

For group purchases email courses@praxiscet.com. Group discounts are available for 5+ registrations.

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14-Day Money-Back Guarantee

To make enrollment risk free, your investment in the course will be fully covered by a 14-day refund policy:

If you decide for any reason the course isnt right for you, email the Praxis team at courses@praxiscet.com within 14 days of enrolling, and we will refund your entire purchase, unconditionally.

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What Course Members Are Saying

Online course members and live event attendees
share their thoughts about ACT Immersion:

It was a great experience of learning process based ACT from the developer himself. I could apply exercises with my clients with more confidence and competence than before. Observing reads and opening the pivots made my work with clients more delightful and complete. Thank you Steve for bringing meaning and purpose in suffering.

Sayma J., Research scholar; Clinical Psychologist

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I felt like Steven Hayes was in the room with me. This is a wonderful deep dive into ACT as a process based therapy, with solid live video sessions where Steven Hayes works with volunteer clients to illustrate key ACT concepts. Thank you for this great learning experience!

Bernie C., Lecturer - Counselling Higher Education

A fantastic overview of ACT, made personal by Hayes himself, allowing for a deeper appreciation for how process-based therapy can work. Thankfully this isnt just about techniques, but a deep dive into the philosophy of what makes ACT work.

David T., Mental Health Therapist

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I cant recommend this course highly enough. It perfectly blends scientific and philosophical depth and rigor with accessible tools and techniques you can use immediately in the therapy room. This course has helped me to understand ACT on a much deeper and more personal level so that I can really own it, and make it my own in an informed and effective way. I am so grateful that this course helped me to put my own values to work and be the best clinician I can be.

Liesa E., Licensed Mental Health Clinician

A powerful and emotional journey that starts within the first 10 minutes. I did not expect something so profound and inspiring. Even regarding what I did expect (i.e., high quality content on the theory and practice of ACT), this course managed to surpass my expectations by delivering novel content which I found extremely useful in my clinical practice.

Eugen-Calin S., Psychotherapist

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ACT changed my entire outlook on my practice. I feel confident about what I am asking my clients to do because I know that when they put these principles into practice, they will discover what they value most and how they can live their lives in accordance with their values.

Joseph S., Ph.D.; Psychologist

Learning to hold our thoughts and feelings lightly rather than being dominated by them. Connecting to a deeper I am that is values driven. The model has reduced suffering in my life as Ive changed my relationship to childhood trauma. I now see the gifts...
...ACT has transformed my practice. Clients immediately resonate with the model and often share that they teach others about the skills. Report feeling empowered/motivated by the values work.

Lara L., Licensed Clinical Social Worker

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It affirmed my conceptualizations of mental health. I have always hated to pathologize my clients. This has changed how I conceptualize my cases, interact with my clients, and develop treatment goals. My clients have responded positively. I do feel differently about my work. Its great to see my clients feel successful and hopeful…
...I have attended ACT workshops with several presenters. There is something about Stevens personal experience that really makes this work so relevant. Also, because he knows the history and concepts so intimately, he is able to make theoretical concepts accessible and understandable.

Debbie S., Licensed Psychologist

The permission to stop struggling is tremendously liberating. My aha moment was when I realized that I was different than my mind and I could do what I wanted.

Chris W., Licensed Clinical Social Worker

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Questions and Answers

Q. Do you offer group rates?

Yes! We provide a discount for groups through our Group License.

This license allows you to purchase as many memberships as you need through one transaction and gives each individual access to their own account and the ability to earn CEs. It’s designed for groups in which each person should have their own login with the ability to go through the entire course on their own. There’s a 10% discount off the total price for 5–9 accounts and a 20% discount off the total price for 10+ logins.

Our Group License also allows you to purchase access to a course in advance.

This means that if you would like your current clinicians to get started on a course but know there will be a few more individuals added to your team in the near future, you could purchase all the memberships you need now and once the new clinicians are ready to get started, you can simply send us their names and email addresses and we will get them enrolled.

To purchase a group license and take advantage of group rates, email us at: courses@praxiscet.com (Group rates cannot be purchased using the standard checkout on this page.)

Q. I have a busy schedule. Will I be able to fit this in?

This course is designed with busy professionals in mind, which is why it is entirely self-paced and fully online. The video content is pre-recorded, so it can be viewed whenever youre available, and though the modules will be released at a rate of one per week, you are free to go through the content more slowly if you wish. With lifetime access to the course, there is no rush to complete it and no limit to how many times you can review the material.

Q. I already use particular therapy methods that I have found work well for me. Can I continue using them with ACT?

Yes, you can. The beautiful thing about ACT as a therapy form is that you can integrate it with the vast majority of things you have already learned that work well. In fact, almost anything that has evidence for it fits somewhere in the model that youll learn in the course. That means you are able to bring what fits your style, and your approach, to the effort to help people live more flexible and effective lives.

Q. I dont have a lot of extra money. Will this be worthwhile for me?

If youre in the business of helping people, this course is an investment in becoming as effective as possible in helping your clients move toward long-term improved outcomes. If the single up-front payment is out of reach, you can spread your enrollment fee out over six months.

Q. What if I can’t afford the course? Do you offer scholarships?

We have a limited reduced-fee program to help make this training accessible to those who would otherwise be unable to enroll, with priority given to practitioners in countries with developing economies and those who are facing financial hardship. To learn more about this program, please email us at courses@praxiscet.com.

Q. I work with a particularly difficult, unique client population. Will this be useful for me?

One of the best aspects of ACT is that its underlying model has been shown to apply to virtually all populations and psychological issues because these processes of dealing flexibly with emotions and thoughts, coming consciously into the present, focusing on values and what moves in their direction is a generally useful pattern of life empowerment. No matter what your clients are struggling with, your ability to see and move their underlying processes will be transformative in your work with them.

Q. Ive sometimes been confused by ACT trainings in the past. Will this one be different?

During live workshops it can be difficult to take in all of the information and then remember it well enough to apply it later on. ACT Immersion provides lifetime access to the materials in a convenient format that you can study again and again over the years, gleaning more each time you review it. Dr. Hayes originated ACT, RFT, and functional contextualism — the core of modern contextual behavioral science. Hes trained others in these areas longer than anyone else. You will be exposed to theory and even philosophy in this course, but every step of the way Dr. Hayes will explain why it matters, will show you how to apply it in practice with several clinical demonstrations and accompanying materials, and will support you as you move through the course.

Q. Im not a psychotherapist. Will this course be a good fit for me?

This course will be immensely helpful to professionals across a broad range of people-oriented fields. Of course its ideal for psychotherapists, but it will also be helpful to OTs, PTs, teachers, nurses, behavior analysts, physicians, drug and alcohol personnel, MFT, parents, and countless others. The processes that were targeting are relevant to human functioning and human prosperity. If you know how to see and move them, you can do that in whatever human-oriented professional role you're in. If youre working with people, youre going to find this course relevant to the work that you do.

Q. Will course videos have subtitles?

All video content will have subtitles available in English and Spanish (and you may also slow down or speed up video playback if you wish). Additional language options will be considered seriously in the future, depending on interest.

Q. Will the course be available in other languages?

All course content and materials are in English, but to help make the training accessible to our international community, subtitles in Spanish and English will be available for the video content, including the roleplays. (You can also slow down, or speed up, the video playback if you wish.)

Q. For how long will I have access to the course?

When you enroll in the course, you get lifetime access to all course materials including:

  • 10 in-depth modules
  • 16+ hours of video instruction
  • Video subtitle options in English and Spanish
  • Extensive exercises
  • Written course materials
  • Bonus #1: 4 Hours of Clinical Demonstrations
  • Bonus #2: Directors Cut APA Tape
  • Bonus #3: Audio ACT Exercises
  • Bonus #4: Module-by-Module Q&A Videos

Also, this course is approved for 24 CE hours in a number of professional areas. For more details about CE credit, click here: CE Details.

With lifetime access to all course material, you are under no obligation to rush through it and will be able to access the material anytime in the future.

Q. Im a complete beginner; should I join this course?

Absolutely. This course has been designed with beginners in mind and will give you the solid foundation you need to begin incorporating ACT into the work that you already do and to be able to put future reading and training in ACT on that foundation.

Q. Im an experienced ACT therapist; will this course be a good fit?

Yes, it certainly will, and Dr. Hayes would love to have your participation. In addition to covering the theory and philosophy behind ACT, the course also explores an expansion of the model into core yearnings and pivots — a unique take Dr. Hayes developed by considering the evolutionary origins of flexibility processes. You will also find great value in the application portions of the course to learn more about integrating ACT with various other disciplines in real therapeutic situations.

Q. Can I get CE credit hours when I complete this course?

Yes, you can! Upon completion of the core course content and supplemental materials, plus evaluations as required, participants will also be eligible for 24 CE hours approved for the following professionals:

  • Counselors
  • Psychologists
  • Social Workers
  • Nurses
  • Physicians
  • Behavior Analysts
  • Substance Abuse Counselors
  • National Counselors

Prior to registering, please review complete CE information by clicking here: CE Details

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Who Should Consider This Course?

ACT Immersion is right for you if…

  • You’re working with people, helping them unlock their potential and create lives of prosperity and freedom
  • You’re new to ACT and want to get a solid foundation in the therapy form
  • You’re an experienced ACT practitioner interested in learning Dr. Hayes’s unique take on integrating ACT with various other disciplines
  • You’re already proficient in another therapy form and want to incorporate new ideas and concepts while leveraging your previous training
  • You are eager to incorporate a therapy form that will allow you to actually see what’s working and learn from your clients: this course will help you move beyond standard diagnoses and protocols

If any of those points resonate with you, this course will be a good fit.

Enroll in ACT Immersion

When you enroll in the course, you get lifetime access to all course materials.

What’s included:

  • 10 in-depth modules
  • 16+ hours of video instruction
  • Video subtitle options in English and Spanish
  • Extensive exercises
  • Written course materials
  • Bonus #1: 4 Hours of Clinical Demonstrations
  • Bonus #2: Directors Cut APA Tape
  • Bonus #3: Audio ACT Exercises
  • Bonus #4: Module-by-Module Q&A Videos

All enrollments are backed by an unconditional 14-day money-back guarantee.

To join, select one of the following options:

A one-time payment of
$629 (USD)

OR

6 monthly payments of
$129 (USD)

For group purchases email courses@praxiscet.com. Group discounts are available for 5+ registrations.

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Closing Thoughts From Dr. Hayes

Theres a paradox in the modern world.

On the one hand, we have greater prosperity than weve ever had in the history of humankind.

If you had to pick a moment to be born and you couldnt decide where, you couldnt do a better job than to pick right now.

But at the same time, we have rising rates of anxiety, depression, and stress — plus behavioral health problems of all sorts.

Our ability to manage our own behavior is going down, not up.

We’re losing our ability to ‘be with ourselves’ — and it’s only becoming more challenging due to the increased exposure to judgment, comparison, and pain that we experience today.

Therefore, we have to create modern minds for this modern world.

We need to understand the underlying processes that take life trajectories in negative or positive directions; thats what acceptance and commitment therapy is all about.

In presenting this online course, what Im most excited to share with the world is this: that were finally ready to go beyond protocols — beyond protocols for syndromes, beyond the one-size fits all, beyond the rule book — into something that I think is far more progressive and empowering of professionals in every role.

Do you work with human beings, promoting their prosperity and alleviating their problems?

If thats the kind of work you do, this is the kind of course I hope you take, because if you are able to move the underlying change processes, youre going to be able to do better work in the interest of the lives that you serve.

Im excited because were finally in a place where we can make ACT accessible to you no matter where you are in the world, and no matter what your schedule is.

And I know that thousands and thousands of lives will be uplifted by the work that you, and others, will do as a result.

I hope that youll join me inside the course. Its time to learn how to see the difference youre making, and move the underlying processes that matter in the long-term.

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Steven C. Hayes