Exploring Overarching and Ongoing, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal Processes Inside of the Therapeutic Stance

Presenter: Robyn D. Walser, PhD

Most do not fully acknowledge or are reluctant to see that life contains suffering. But acknowledging this truth is a first step on the path to transcending it. It is in this transcendence that vital and meaningful lives are born. As ACT therapists, it is hoped that we can assist our clients in this process. Helping them to acknowledge and hold pain while continuing to take steps, each day, each moment, that are connected to personal meaning. This is done, as is often said in ACT, with head, hands, and heart. So verbal knowledge, an intellectual understanding of the intervention is needed. The work of the “hands” is about behavior; physical movement and taking action are fundamental. ACT’s heart however appears to be more elusive.  This is partly because it lies in the experiential nature of the therapy, not wholly in verbal understanding. Knowing ACT's six core processes is not enough. ACT is a process itself, both in its implementation and its lived quality. In this presentation we will explore the overarching and ongoing process of ACT as well as the interpersonal and intrapersonal processes that lead to engagement in a greater purpose  - meaning in life. 

Robyn D. Walser, Ph.D. is Director of TL Consultation Services and works at the National Center for PTSD. As a licensed psychologist, she maintains an international training, consulting and therapy practice. Dr. Walser is an expert in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and has co-authored 4 books on ACT including a books on ACT for Trauma and its related problems and learning ACT. She also has expertise in traumatic stress and substance abuse and has authored a number of articles, chapters and books on these topics. She has been doing ACT workshops since 1998; training in multiple formats and for multiple client problems. Dr. Walser has presented her research findings and papers at international and national conferences, universities and hospital settings; and she has been invited to international conferences to speak about ACT. She is invested in developing innovative ways to translate science-into-practice and continues to do research and education on dissemination of ACT and other therapies.