Introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Serious Mental Illness-View Presentation

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The webinar, hosted by Shireen Khan and presented by Dr. Jennifer Patterson, focused on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for individuals with serious mental illness, particularly psychosis. ACT is a third-wave behavioral therapy that emphasizes acceptance and willingness to engage with distressing experiences rather than attempting to eliminate them. The approach helps clients focus on values and committed actions, moving away from negative thoughts and behaviors.<br /><br />ACT teaches clients to view their thoughts simply as thoughts, promoting psychological flexibility through techniques such as mindfulness, diffusion, and value clarification. Dr. Patterson highlighted ACT's success in reducing hospitalization rates and improving quality of life for people with psychosis, demonstrated in various studies. ACT sessions incorporate experiential exercises and metaphors to convey ideas and help clients differentiate between themselves and their psychotic experiences.<br /><br />The webinar also provided resources and recommended engaging with the contextual behavioral science community for those interested in further learning. Several questions in the Q&A portion focused on tailoring the approach based on individual needs, assessing areas of struggle, and providing interventions without needing the client to fully understand the model. Dr. Patterson emphasized the importance of values in therapy and provided guidance on handling clients with low insight or awareness of their symptoms. The session ended with information on how clinicians can access more resources and training on ACT through specific websites.

Keywords

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

psychosis

third-wave behavioral therapy

psychological flexibility

mindfulness

value clarification

experiential exercises

contextual behavioral science

mental illness

Dr. Jennifer Patterson