ACT Matrix | A Cognitive Behavioral Tool to Address Anxiety and Depression
Channel: Doc Snipes
Date: 2017-02-07

Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Qualified Clinical Supervisor.  She received her PhD in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Florida in 2002.  In addition to being a practicing clinician, she has provided training to counselors, social workers, nurses and case managers internationally since 2006 through AllCEUs.com #Acceptance and Commitment #Therapy #cognitivebehavioraltherapy 
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AllCEUs provides counseling education and CEs for LPCs, LMHCs, LMFTs and LCSWs as well as addiction counselor precertification training and continuing education.
The ACT Matrix
What Every Counselor Should Know 
with Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes
Executive Director, AllCEUs
Host: Counselor Toolbox & Happiness Isn’t Brain Surgery

Objectives
 Review the main points of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy 
 Review how to apply the ACT matrix
 Identify the shortcut question
The Main Principles of ACT
 The goals are to:
 Create a rich and meaningful life, while accepting the pain that inevitably goes with it. 
 Transform your relationship with your difficult thoughts and feelings

Six Core Principles of ACT
 Values Awareness
 Contact with the Present Moment
 The Observing Self
 Acceptance
 Diffusion
 Committed Action

Clarifying the Destination
Values & Goals
 A lack of clarity about values can underlie much of your distress or keep you “stuck.”
 You can get caught up spinning your wheels trying to fight against something or use that same energy to work toward something.
 What is the most effective use of your limited energy and time to help you achieve your goals

ACT Matrix: Destination Identification
Clarifying the Destination
Values & Goals
 Clarifying 
 Relationships: Who is most important to you?
 Which people?
 What do you want those relationships to be like?
 What events, things, experiences are meaningful to you?
 Work
 Health
 Personal Growth

Mindfulness in the Present Moment
 Bringing full awareness to your here-and-now experience

Unhooking Thoughts and Behaviors
  Cognitive diffusion means:
 “Stepping back” and recognizing that thoughts are just temporary, automatic events
 Unhooking: Thoughts/feelings don’t always have to lead to action
Unhooking Activity
 Think of a behavior that you “automatically” do when you get stressed or angry.
 How can you take a pause to become mindful and make an informed, committed decision
(Hint: These will become TOWARD behaviors later)

Shortcut Question
 Are my current thoughts, feelings and actions moving me closer to, or further away from my goals and values.
Summary
 Every event is an opportunity to choose thoughts and behaviors that will help you use your energy to move toward your goals and values
 Acceptance means accepting, without judgement, how you feel and the situation as it is instead of fighting against it.
 Commitment and purposeful action mean that you choose to use your energy on thoughts and behaviors that move you closer to your goals

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction CEUs at #allceus 
01:50 Main Principles of ACT Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
04:20 Experiential avoidance
06:30 Control is the problem, not the solution
08:00 Focus on the variables in context
14:50 Six core principles of ACT
18:35 Clarifying the destination
28:30 the Observing self
29:35 Mindfulness of the Present Moment
31:30 Acceptance
32:30 Cognitive Defusion and Unhooking
38:40 The ACT Matrix