Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) With Parents of Youth With Chronic Medical Conditions

The presenters will use didactic instruction and experiential exercises to teach how to use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and self-compassion (ACT/SC) to address distress for parents with youth with chronic medical conditions. This workshop is designed for practitioners familiar with the basic tenets of ACT/SC who are interested in learning to use ACT/SC with parents. After briefly reviewing research supporting the use of ACT/SC with parents, most of the time will focus on the use of brief ACT/SC-consistent interventions to increase psychological flexibility in parents. The presenters will use case presentation examples and other experiential exercises to assist learning.

• Describe therapeutic approaches and/or exercises for brief ACT interventions and compassion focused therapy for parents.
• Discuss when and how to apply at least two ACT or Self Compassion techniques in their clinical practice.

Karen E. Weiss, PhD, and Dustin P. Wallace, PhD