ACT in the Clinic (Online)

Virtual and LIVE. NOVEMBER 2020 A course in ACT designed specifically for non-psychologists by a physiotherapist.

ACT in the clinic is a 4-week training programme designed specifically for non-psychologists to develop their skill in the psychology framework of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

The course is designed to be part workshop-based and part coursework based to ensure that you develop your experience with using ACT in a supported supervision-style environment.

The course is broken up into 4-weeks, including the pre-course week.

Teaching takes place every Wednesday at 16:00 - 19:00 (Amsterdam time):

Dates:

4 NOVEMBER 2020

11 NOVEMBER 2020

18 NOVEMBER 2020

25 NOVEMBER 2020

*check your timezone*

https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

What you'll get:

• 12 hours of contact teaching
• Exercises for self-reflection and to develop your own psychological flexibility
• Reading and resource materials
• Access to a closed facebook group for continued support

Course breakdown:

~ Before we start ~

Pre-course recommended reading and reflection exercise.

Week 1: The 'what-where-who-how' bit...

What is ACT? This week we will be focusing on the foundational philosophy of ACT- Functional Contextualism and Relational Frame Theory.  We will look at the analysis process of formulation and how to make sense of what we 'see' in the clinic.

You will start to get a feel for ACT itself and experience exercises and practices that I use with clients regularly.

As well as feeling ACT for yourself to come into contact with your own psychological flexibility, we will begin to build up a patient avatar for you to explore the challenges clinical application keeping the goals and values of the person centred.

Week 2: The Doing bit...

This week we will review what you have done through the week and a quick recap.

We will go on to explore the 'Hexaflex vs the Triflex' and the individual processes of change.

You will continue to build your awareness and 'feel' for ACT as we focus on goal setting.

Week 3: The consolidating bit....

This week will be consolidating practice with a focus on clinical facilitation.

Discussing cases, examples and coming up with new practices and experiences deigned to facilitate change in a patient example.

Week 4: The 'what-we-don't-do' bit....

This is the last teaching contact and boy do we have a big one to go out on.  After reviewing the content and an opportunity for case discussion, we will focus on SCOPE.

What is your scope now as an Allied Health Professional that has completed a short course in ACT? How do you refer? How can you best support other clinical work happening alongside your clinical input?

We will be answering these questions and making sure you feel comfortable to to let your practice flourish as you move on from this course.

DISCLAIMER:

* There is a high expectation on engagement and commitment throughout the four-weeks of this course.  You will be working in pairs to support and facilitate each others learning.

* This is a psychology-based framework that is designed to help you work with distress and resistance.  It is possible that this might show up in our sessions.

* This course is not intended to act as self-therapy or therapy for the participants.

Please take a moment to make sure this course is workable for you right now in your life.

* For practicing, licensed allied health professionals (such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists etc) only.

* This course does NOT give you the scope to work as a psychologist and is not intended to replace psychology in circumstances where clinical psychology is appropriate.

About Laura Rathbone: 

Laura Rathbone is a clinical specialist physiotherapist working in the field of persistent and complex pain and lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She gained her MSc in Advanced Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy from Kings College London in 2015. Here she was heavily influenced by the teaching of Prof Mick Thacker who introduced her to the wider philosophical discussion around human experience and pain. 

She has held multiple Physiotherapy roles in London within 1st and 3rd contact environments working in clinics, GP practices, hospitals and a specialist program. She worked as part of the multi-disciplinary team delivering the INPUT Pain Management program at St Thomas’ Hospital under the management of Prof. Lance McCracken. This is a highly specialised programme for people with persistent and complex pain. Here she gained an in-depth working model of ACT and became skilled in session development for groups and individual work. 

Laura is dedicated to the understanding and exploration of the science of pain. She co-hosts Le Pub Scientifique in Amsterdam and guest lectures on the topic of pain and incorporating psychological frameworks into practice. 

She is currently interested in the ‘how’ and ‘why’ people experience pain.She is exploring the philosophical discussions around conscious experience and how humans interact with their environment. She is particularly keen to explore how these models feed into the development of a modern, person-centered health care service.