ACT for Anxiety: Necessary Tools to Defeat Anxiety With Welcome Acceptance & Flexibility

Date course created: March 2025

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that has been found to be effective for a wide range of clinical presentations, including anxiety, depression, substance use, pain, and transdiagnostic difficulties (Gloster et al., 2020). Since ACT was first studied in 1986, there have been over 1,039 randomized controlled trials examining ACT (Hayes, 2019). ACT has been studied in its application to anxiety disorders and studies have found that clients who receive ACT for anxiety experience an improved emotional state and greater psychological flexibility (Coto-Lesmes et al., 2020). Rather than viewing anxiety as a deficit or dysfunction, ACT uses a functional contextual approach to place the problem in the way one reacts to anxiety and becomes rigid in one’s behavioral responses in their contexts. ACT uses six core processes of change to reduce suffering and improve quality of life (Hayes et al., 2012). Each of the core processes of ACT are used to shift from anxiety-driven behaviors to connecting with one’s values in the face of anxiety.

This workshop builds on the strong efficacy of ACT for anxiety disorders to provide attendees with a hands-on, interactive experience of the ACT core processes at work in anxiety treatment. Participants will gain a foundational understanding of ACT and its theoretical basis for the treatment of anxiety. Experiential exercises and live role-play therapy demonstrations will be used to help participants see firsthand how ACT works with different facets of anxiety disorders. Participants will leave with a strong understanding of how to engage clients in ACT for effective treatment of anxiety disorders, that not only reduces anxiety symptoms, but leads to a more values-aligned life.

**This is a 5.75-CE noninteractive, self-paced online video course delivered in home study format via an industry-standard online learning platform**

Agenda:

00:00 – 00:43: Introduction, Third Wave of Therapy, Behavioral Change in Therapy, Experiential Avoidance and Anxiety
00:43 – 01:21: Shifting Focus from Anxiety to Values, Motivation Beyond the Swamp, Redefining Goals in Therapy
01:21 – 02:18: Managing Anxiety, Cultural Sensitivity, Pets, Understanding Committed Action, The Role of Values
02:18 – 03:18: Assessing Client Readiness, Reinforcement, Value-Based Exposures, Hoarding Disorder, Sticky Thoughts
03:18 – 04:05: Personalizing the Therapeutic Process, Narrative Therapy, Mapping the Anxiety Spiral
04:05 – 04:51: Guided Visualization Practice, Mindfulness in Trauma Contexts, Loving Kindness Practices
04:51 – 05:38: Live Demonstration
05:38 – 05:50: The Importance of Commitment and Action, Reflections on Self as Context, Closing Words

Objectives:

This training will provide participants clinical knowledge and tools to:

a). After completing this training, participants will be able to describe the core tenets, principles, and underlying theory of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy applied to anxiety disorders.

b). After completing this training, participants will be able to explain each of the six core processes of ACT and their application to anxiety.

c). After completing this training, participants will be able to illustrate how ACT interventions can help individuals with anxiety disorders build psychological flexibility.

d). After completing this training, participants will be able to identify and describe how to move fluidly through core processes in moment-to-moment experiences in session.

e). After completing this training, participants will be able to explain how to create values-based exposures for anxiety, based on willingness and values.

f). After completing this training, participants will be able to describe how to use cognitive defusion to notice and disengage from worry cycles and anxious thoughts.

Target Audience:

The target audience for this event includes psychologists, social workers, counselors, MFT’s, psychiatrists and other clinical mental health professionals.

Instructional Level: Intermediate

Instructor(s): Emily Wharton, PsyD

Material Author(s): Emily Wharton, PsyD

Dr. Emily Wharton is a Clinical Psychologist providing psychotherapy to individuals and couples in her private practice, and a Clinical Instructor at the Cognitive Behavior Institute, where she teaches courses in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Dr. Wharton has also served in roles of Clinical Assistant Professor (Affiliated) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, and licensed clinical psychologist in the Palo Alto VA. She has provided supervision and training for VA and Stanford psychiatry residents, medical students, and psychology trainees in ACT, DBT, and MI. Dr. Wharton trained at the PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium, San Francisco VA, UCSF, and Palo Alto VA. Dr. Wharton has also served as the Member-At-Large Director for the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Wharton has given lectures and trainings for the Palo Alto VA, Stanford University, and the Association for Contextual and Behavioral Science. Dr. Wharton has published papers and book chapters on ACT for PTSD, ACT for moral injury, mindfulness practices for anxiety disorders, and group trauma-focused CBT for parents of preterm infants. Learn more about Dr. Wharton at www.DrEmilyWharton.com/about-me.

For additional information about this course, the instructors, or the material authors, please contact Content Assistance at content@onlinececredits.com.

Course Materials & Delivery Method:

• Course Materials – The course is composed of a recorded presentation and written materials (e.g. a slide deck and/or other worksheets, manuals, or handouts as provided by the instructor). The slide deck and any additional worksheets or handouts (as provided by the instructor) are made available inside the Lesson module after a course is purchased.
• Delivery Method – This course is a recorded asynchronous, self-paced webinar training, and there is no access time limit or due date to complete it once enrolled. The enrolled learner will stream the recorded presentation and view the materials from their internet connected device via an industry-standard online learning platform.

CE Approvals:

Online CE Credits has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6795. Programs that do not quality for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Online CE Credits is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Mind Works Professional Education, Inc. DBA Online CE Credits, #1974, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: July 23, 2024 – July 23, 2025. Social workers completing this course receive 5.75 clinical continuing education credits.

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