‘An update on ACT research in children and young people’ is led by Dr. Victoria Samuel, Clinical Psychologist. Director, InTER-ACT:  an innovative, evidence-based preventative mental health intervention for children and adolescents.

The session starts with a general introduction to ACT and the concept of psychological flexibility, followed by a brief explanation of the hexaflex and the rationale behind it. We would then move on to reviewing the evidence across different settings (schools, clinical practice, and parents), while reflecting on methodological limitations and practical implications of the research findings. Finally, Dr. Victoria Samuel, will focus in on the example of the development of the Interactive Training in Emotional Resilience with ACT (InTER-ACT) a unique, engaging, evidence-based wellbeing programme for children and adolescents.

This session is ideal for mental health professionals, mid-level clinical practitioners, and also researchers and people working in education. The session will have a higher research component than others, so it may be of interest to academics in mental health.

Booking

Sign up at this link or on the Book Now button at the top of the screen, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation and a link to the webinar, plus we’ll send you a calendar reminder nearer the time. Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD/CME certificate via email.

• ACAMH Members MUST login to book onto the webinar in order to access this webinar and get a CPD/CME certificate
• Non-members this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions

£30 for ACAMH Members (Print, Online, Concession) Join now and save

£50 ACAMH Learn Account holders

£50 Non Members

£5 ACAMH Undergraduate/Postgraduate Members

FREE LMIC Members

Don’t forget as a charity any surplus made is reinvested back as we work to our vision of ‘Sharing best evidence, improving practice’, and our mission to ‘Improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 0-25’. 

About the talk

This talk will provide a brief introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), with consideration given to its specific relevance and fit for children and young people (CYP). A clear overview of psychological flexibility (PF) will be given, and we will look at why increasing PF is seen as so important in ACT. Following this, a comprehensive overview will be provided of existing research on the efficacy of ACT for CYP, looking at areas such as: ACT therapy; online self-help ACT interventions; ACT in schools; and ACT for parents. Victoria will then describe her personal experiences of developing an ACT intervention from scratch, describing the sequential stages of research carried out in developing InTER-ACT, a novel universal intervention for adolescents, which is delivered by trained school-staff and youth workers. Victoria will also consider the importance of CYP-friendly measures of psychological flexibility, outlining findings from two studies she supervised, which involved adapting and validating an existing measure of psychological flexibility to ensure its suitability for children and adolescents. Finally, the talk will conclude with a brief discussion of the practical implications of ACT research in the area for CYP clinicians and academics.

Learning outcomes

• To understand the aim and relevance of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for children and young people (CYP).
• To gain an overview of the state of the current evidence on ACT for CYP and the implications of these findings.
• To better understand key stages involved in developing new interventions, through the use of a case study on InTER-ACT – a universal ACT intervention for adolescents.

About the speaker