Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Avalon Hills recently co-sponsored the annual Utah State University Counseling Center Conference. It was a particularly thrilling experience because the speaker was Steven Hayes, the co-founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Our research advisor, Mike Twohig, Ph.D. is a former student of Doctor Hayes. Consequently, he was able to arrange for Steve Hayes to stay on following the one day conference and do an experiential weekend workshop. Both the Counseling Center conference and the weekend workshop were very well attended- even including clinicians from as far away as Florida and Minnesota. All members of the Avalon Hills treatment team were involved and found it to be meaningful in informing our work with those who suffer with eating disorders. The 2 main tenants of ACT include 1) facilitating acceptance of the fact that life is difficult at times and avoiding certain aspects of life or emotions only creates a bigger problem & 2) committing to a life that is of value-outside of being overly concerned about outward appearance. Consequently, ACT is a great fit in working with issues related to disordered eating.
The photo shows all of those in attendance for the weekend workshop, where many new friends and connections were made!
