Neuroaffirming ACT For ADHD & Autism

At least 10% of the population meets criteria for ADHD, Autism, or both. (Russ himself is an ADHDer.) And often there’s co-occurence with trauma, depression, anxiety disorders, or addiction. This two-day in person workshop will teach you how to modify, adapt and apply ACT flexibly and effectively with the full range of clinical issues commonly found in neurodivergent populations. (The focus is on adults, but everything is relevant and easily adaptable to adolescents.)

The good news: thanks to social justice movements all around the globe, stigma, prejudice, and discrimination against neurodivergent people is falling.

The bad news: many neurodivergent (ND) folk struggle greatly, as they grapple with the difficulties of life in a neurotypical world. Often, they have a long and painful history of trauma and rejection, and repeated subjection to prejudice, discrimination, or bullying. Hardly surprising then that mental health issues are pervasive in ND populations, and dual or triple diagnoses are common. .

Back to the good news: with its flexible format, and easy-to-adapt core processes, ACT is ideally suited for making a difference. This advanced-level workshop will teach you how to effectively use ACT, in a neurodiversity-affirming format, with common ND issues.

What’s Involved In The Workshop?
We’ll kick off a quick look at neurobiology, neurodivergent culture, and neurodiversity-affirming therapy.
Then through role plays, videos of therapy sessions, live demonstrations, and many experiential exercises, you’ll develop practical skills to:

• understand ND issues through a biopsychosocial lens
• use neuroaffirming language (e.g. ‘Autism’ rather than ‘ASD’)
• adapt your communication style to better suit your clients
• accommodate sensory and other needs of your clients
• help clients harness their strengths to enable effective action, foster self-acceptance, and build a positive self-identity
• do neuroaffirmative ‘bodywork’ to help clients develop somatosensory awareness, and build emotional literacy
• scaffold executive functioning
• break through task inertia
• improve emotion regulation
• foster cognitive flexibility
• create all sorts of quick’n’easy attention-improving practices ideal for clients who ‘hate mindfulness’, can’t sit still, or find meditation impossible
• create and use flexible, compassionate therapeutic interventions that are applicable across the broadest possible range of neurodivergent issues: from distractibility, impulsivity and hyperfocus to sensory overload, burnout and masking

And very importantly, we’ll ensure that you …

Do NOT Use A ‘One Size Fits All’ Approach

When you’ve met one neurodivergent person … you’ve met one neurodivergent person! Every ND client has their own unique set of problems, strengths, and needs – so we need to tailor what we do to suit each unique individual.

That’s why you’ll learn to use multi-purpose tools, and highly flexible strategies, easily modifiable to suit different issues. For example, you’ll learn how to quickly analyse the function of literally any problematic behaviour – from ‘meltdowns’ and ‘doom-scrolling’ to self-harming and substance abuse – and use this information to target the behaviour precisely and effectively.

You Will Learn How To Help Your Clients …

• Scaffold executive functioning
• Build emotion regulation skills
• Develop flexible attention skills: for sustaining focus or shifting focus, as needed
• Practice healthy self-soothing
• Identify and harness ND strengths
• Overcome impulsivity
• Foster self-acceptance and self-compassion
• Improve interoceptive awareness and ability to notice and name emotions
• Build caring, supportive relationships
• Practice effective self-advocacy
• Recognise, reduce and recover from ND burnout
• Develop greater cognitive flexibility
• Defuse from rigid rules, harsh self-judgment, and internalised ableism
• Develop a positive self-identity
• Increase psychological flexibility
• Practice safe, flexible unmasking
• Use pacing and resting strategies for fatigue
• Overcome rejection sensitivity
• And so much more!

So, if you already know ACT basics and you want to upgrade your skills to work efficiently, compassionately and creatively with neurodivergent clients, this training is for you.

This workshop is worth 14 specialised CPD hours

Who should attend this workshop?

This advanced-level workshop is intended for any practitioner who has already completed basic introductory training in ACT (which needn’t have been with Russ). The workshop is open to all health practitioners, including psychologists, social workers, counsellors, therapists, coaches, BCBAs, psychiatrists, mental health nurses, GPs, youth workers, OTs, physios, and dietitians.

Prerequisites

This is an advanced level course, which assumes at least a beginners-level knowledge of ACT.
Before enrolling, we recommend you do at least one of the following:

• Attended an introductory level 2-day ACT workshop (with any ACT trainer), or
• Complete Russ’s 6-week online ACT for Beginners course, or
• Worked your way through an introductory textbook, such as ACT Made Simple or Learning ACT

Please Note: we will not cover diagnosis or assessment.
The workshop does not focus on diagnosis or assessment tools. It focuses purely on practical interventions: tools, techniques, principles and strategies that you can use effectively with any client – whether they have a formal diagnosis or not.

You will receive:

• Articles & research on ACT with Autism and ADHD
• Client worksheets and handouts
• Scripts for experiential exercises
• E-Books on important topics
• Professionally recorded audios of key exercises

Duration: workshops run from 9am – 4pm on Day 1 and 9am – 3.30pm on Day 2

Fees: Super Keen $525 – Early Bird $550 – Standard $595 – Last Minute $620 – Student Concessions apply
Prices are less for advance payment.

For cancellations with more than 48 hours notice: Payment will be refunded, minus a $50 admin fee
For cancellations with less than 48 hours notice: Payment will be refunded, minus a $200 admin fee

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ABOUT RUSS HARRIS

Dr Russ Harris, MBBS, is a physician, psychotherapist, internationally-renowned ACT trainer, and author of the world’s best-selling book on ACT: The Happiness Trap. (To download the opening chapter, click here.)

Russ’s background is in medicine. As a physician, he became increasingly interested in the psychological aspects of health and wellbeing, which ultimately led him to change careers and become a psychotherapist.

Russ has trained over 90, 000 health professionals around the globe, and authored nine books on the ACT model. His best-known work, The Happiness Trap, has sold over one million copies, with translations into over thirty languages.

Russ is considered one of the world’s foremost ACT trainers, and his textbook for professionals, ACT Made Simple is extremely popular. (To download the first chapter, click here.) The book’s title reflects Russ’s genuine passion for making the principles and practice of this evidenced-based therapy simple, clear and easy to put into practice.

In 2015 Russ created an ACT protocol for the World Health Organisation, for use in refugee camps around the globe. The WHO have published three RCTs based on this protocol, showing that it not only significantly reduces depression and PTSD, but also prevents the onset of mental health disorders in those at high risk.

Russ proudly proclaims each workshop a ‘jargon-free zone’ – and bases his training on three core values: simplicity, clarity, and having fun. His highly-acclaimed in person workshops are brief, powerful, cost-effective and life-enhancing. Participants regularly report not only major improvements in their therapy or coaching, but also in their personal lives – and evaluation forms frequently praise his ability to make complex ideas seem very simple. (For examples, go to testimonials )