Acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based interventions are changing the face of CBT because they add important conceptual and practical dimensions to our work, and because they help us think of what we know from the CBT tradition in creative new ways. These methods have generally been thought of with a focus on the client's world within, but they are equally applicable to the therapist, to the world without, and to the relationship between clients and therapists. This workshop is designed to teach a workable set of basic skills needed to explore ACT as an assessment model and intervention method. The means of doing so will be consciously linked to both to the world within (e.g., acceptance) and the world without (e.g., compassion); both to a focus on the client and a focus on the therapist's processes and life stance; and both to the client's struggles and to the moment-to-moment interactions in therapeutic work. The workshop will be didactic and experiential in equal measure, and will balance understanding of the model, personal connection with the issues it raises, and skill development.

Day 1 of the workshop will explore the model, and show how it can be applied at these multiple levels. Day 2 will delve deeper into skills and methods, based on the understanding established in Day 1. Because the workshop is cummulative it is not feasible to start on Day 2, but it is possible to take Day 1 only.

You will learn:

• The six core processes focused on in ACT;
• How these "ACT processes" help explain psychopathology and provide a unified model of intervention;
• How ACT processes recast the nature and purpose of the therapeutic relationship;
• Why acceptance and compassion are two aspects of the same process and are key to therapeutic success;
• How to read ACT processes in your clients, moment to moment;
• How to formulate cases in terms of ACT processes;
• How to foster ACT processes using your existing CBT and general clinical skills and to amplify these using technology developed by ACT practitioners and researchers.

Recommended Readings: Hayes, S. C., & Smith, S. (2005). Get out of your mind and into your life: The new Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. o Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change. New York: Guilford Press. o Luoma, J., Hayes, S. C., & Walser, R. (2007). Learning ACT. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.

Mindfulness skills have emerged as an important focus of several empirically supported treatments. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) for borderline personality disorder, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression, mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindful meditation as part of drug addiction treatment are but a few examples. The roots of mindfulness practice are in the contemplative practices common to both Eastern and Western spiritual disciplines. These disciplines are being brought together by emerging scientific knowledge about the benefits of "allowing" experiences rather than suppressing or avoiding them. Mindfulness in its totality is the quality of awareness that a person brings to everyday living. As a set of skills, mindfulness practice is the intentional process of observing, describing, and participating in reality nonjudgmentally, in the moment, and with effectiveness.

This training will focus on how to teach mindfulness and reality acceptance skills. It will consist of practicing various mindfulness exercises drawn from DBT, an empirically supported treatment for individuals with borderline personality disorder. The symposium will include lecture, discussion, and a heavy emphasis on experiential practice. Participants will learn the newly revised and behaviorally specific DBT mindfulness skills and strategies for how to integrate them into clinical practice. The course is open to both DBT and non-DBT therapists, focusing on integrating these skills within any treatment orientation.

You will learn:

• A behaviorally specific set of skills to translate Zen principles into mindfulness practice;
• A concrete set of exercises designed to cultivate radical acceptance and willingness;
• Practical strategies for resolving problems commonly encountered when teaching acceptance skills to clients.

Recommended Readings: Aitken, R. (1982). Taking the Path of Zen. San Francisco: North Point Press. o Hahn, T. N. (1975). The Miracle of Mindfulness. Boston: Beacon Press. o Hayes, Follette, & Linehan (Eds.) (2004). Mindfulness and Acceptance: Expanding the Cognitive-Behavioral Tradition. New York: Guilford Press. o Linehan, M. M. (1993). Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder. New York: Guilford Press.