AOTA

Presenters:

Brandon Gaudiano, Ph.D

Brown University

Butler Hospital, Providence, RI

Anathele Zamor, B.Sc., M.Sc, OT Reg. (Ont.)

Occupational Therapist, Canada

Barbara Ostrove, MA, OTR/L, FAOTA

Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy, Bethesda, MD

James Hill, OTR/L

Occupational Therapist, USA

Earn: .2 AOTA CEUs (2.5 NBCOT PDUs/2 Contact hours)

Course description:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an approach for OT practitioners to use today.  With the COVID-19 virus upon us, the anxiety levels of those we serve as well as in ourselves, could potentially impact our emotional state and ability to engage in needed meaningful occupations.

ACT is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy that uses mindfulness and acceptance strategies to help people make valued changes in their personal lives. ACT has been tested in hundreds of randomized controlled trials and is shown to be effective for a wide range of mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, and psychosis.  The ACT model is built upon the understanding that avoidance of problems and disturbing thoughts is the problem--not the solution.

This introductory course provides the basics of understanding how to deal with unwelcome situations and also provides resources and examples of activities that have been proven effective.

 This course has been brought to you by the AOTA Mental Health Special Interest Section.

Learning Objectives:

Following this course, the learner will be able to:

1. Identify the basic tenets of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

2. Describe the relationship of ACT to the occupational therapy practice framework and theoretical models of practice.

3. Discuss the principles of ACT as they apply to occupational therapy case studies.

4. Identify the applicability of ACT for short-term interventions.

5. Recognize the flexibility of an ACT approach to be individualized to a client.

6. Recognize the broad applicability of ACT across different diagnoses and functional abilities.