On-Demand: Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Chronic Illnesses - 3 CEUs

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• CE Hours Included: 3 Core (please see below for details)
• Format: On-Demand Webinar (“Asynchronous”) ~ At your leisure to be viewed at your own pace. You may pause, rewind, and fast-forward at any point during the videos. You are in complete control of how you view this workshop. It also comes with a PowerPoint handout and multiple handouts & forms. There is a quiz at the end to ensure viewing and required by all CE approval organizations.
• Investment: $87 (provides lifetime access!)
• Presented by: Jennifer Steiner, Ph.D., ABPP (see bios below)
• Instruction Level: Introductory
• Target Audience: Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Psychotherapists, Other Mental Health Professionals
• This workshop is not yet available; by pre-registering, you will receive immediate access when it becomes available in November.

Learning Objectives:

In this workshop, you will learn how to:

• Explain why it is important for mental health professionals to be knowledgeable about the impact of chronic illness on mental health
• Describe the evidence base for ACT for use with individuals who have chronic illness
• Discuss how to conceptualize clients with chronic illness from an ACT perspective
• Apply at least five concrete interventional tools to use with clients who have chronic illness

Workshop Description:

This introductory workshop will review the scholarly research on the use of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) with individuals who experience chronic illness. Emphasis will be placed on learning how to apply the ACT model of emotional pain and suffering to the unique experience of living with physical symptoms of a chronic illness, in addition to emotional distress. Specifically, participants will learn how to conceptualize avoidance of physical symptoms, attempts to control symptoms, and emotional experiences (i.e., depression, anxiety, and fear) from an ACT perspective. Special attention will be paid to the ways in which ACT approaches may need to be modified to accommodate physical symptoms and/or limitations within the chronic illness population.

Workshop Agenda:

1. Background information and research (approximately 45 minutes)
   1. Brief Review of the scholarly literature on the rise of chronic illness in the United States, including a brief overview of common chronic illnesses in the US.
   2. Discuss why it is important for mental health providers to be informed about chronic medical illness
   3. Brief review of the impact of chronic medical illness on mental health conditions
   4. Review of the scholarly literature on Acceptance & Commitment Therapy for chronic illnesses.
2. Case conceptualization using ACT (approximately 45 minutes)
   1. Description of how to do a health-focused intake
   2. Demonstrate how to conceptualize using the ACT model (the hexaflex and the ACT matrix), using 1-2 specific case examples
3. Break (15 minutes)
4. Introduction to specific ACT interventions (approximately 30 minutes)
   1. Explain specific stages of the ACT intervention and specific interventions
   2. Discuss barriers to success in treatment and ways to address these obstacles
5. Full Case Example of the ACT components described above (approximately 45 minutes)
   1. The concepts and interventions above will be applied to two different case examples
6. Brief discussion of ACT for chronic illness in a group setting (10 minutes)
7. Question & Answer (5 minutes)

Presented by: Jennifer Steiner, Ph.D., ABPP

Dr. Jennifer Steiner is a board-certified clinical health psychologist, founder of Beyond the Body Health Psychology Services, LLC, and an Adjunct Faculty at Emory School of Medicine. Dr. Steiner is an expert in the field of pain psychology and has worked with patients with chronic pain for over 15 years. Prior to founding her private practice in 2021, Dr. Steiner worked for several years as a pain psychologist for the Atlanta VA Healthcare System. Dr. Steiner has trained over 20 psychology interns and postdocs in health psychology and has published multiple scholarly articles on psychological correlates and interventions for chronic pain and coping with cancer. Additionally, Dr. Steiner is a seasoned presenter and has presented on these topics at the regional, national, and international levels. Dr. Steiner has also served as a subject matter expert for the Arthritis Foundation and a guest speaker for several different organizations, including Miles for Migraine and the Lighthouse Lymphedema Network. She is committed to furthering both professional and public education on the psychological impact of chronic pain and illness and frequently serves as a guest on various podcasts.

3 "Asynchronous" Core CEs Included - Details by License Type Below:

• PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Knowledge Tree is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Knowledge Tree maintains responsibility for this program and its content. For more detailed information on the current CE ruling in Georgia, or if you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
• COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Please click here for more detailed information.
• SOCIAL WORKERS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Society for Clinical Social Work (GSCSW). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
• MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (GAMFT). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.

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We are an approved vendor for the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs for easy reimbursement of educational expenses for VA employees.

Neither the Knowledge Tree nor its speakers have received any commercial support for this program or its contents and will not receive any commercial support prior to or during this program.