ACT For Neurodivergent Adults: Affirming Therapy for ADHD & Autism
It’s estimated that about 7% of the adult population meets criteria for ADHD, 3% for autism, and 1% for both (AuDHD). There’s a flood of neurodivergent adults seeking therapy – so it’s essential for all health practitioners to have good skills and knowledge in this domain.
Thegood news: public awareness of neurodiversity is rapidly increasing. And thanks to social justice movements all around the globe, stigma, prejudice, and discrimination against neurodivergent people is gradually falling.
Thebad news: many neurodivergent (ND) adults 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. Usually they’ve tried long and hard to fit in with a neurotypical society that’s far from welcoming – and their lack of success has left them with intense shame, internalised ableism, or a deep-seated sense of inadequacy. Hardly surprising then, that mental health issues are pervasive in ND populations, and dual or triple diagnoses are common. And to make matters worse, when they do go for therapy, they often find that practitioners lack the skills and knowledge to work with them effectively.
Now 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 all common ND-related problems.
At least 10% of the Australian population meets criteria for ADHD, autism, or both (AuDHD). And co-morbidity is common. (Russ himself is an ADHDer, and will share some of his lived experience in the workshop.)
This advanced level training 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 covered is relevant and easily adaptable to youth.)
We’ll kick off a quick look at neurobiology, neurodivergent culture, and neurodiversity-affirming therapy. Then through role plays, videos of real client sessions, live demonstrations, and many experiential exercises, you’ll develop practical skills to:
understand ND issues through a biopsychosocial lens
use neurodiversity-affirming language
adapt your communication style to better suit your clients
accommodate sensory and other needs of your clients
help clients harness ND 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 …
Don’t 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
Elicit support, self-advocate, and build supportive relationships
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 adults, 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. Therefore, before enrolling, you must have completed at least one of the following:
Attended an introductory level 2-day ACT workshop (with any ACT trainer), or
Thoroughly worked your way from start to end through a standard ACT textbook, such as ACT Made Simple (2nd ed) or Learning ACT (2nd ed)
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 and research on the use of ACT with ND adult
An 8-week e-course after the workshop for ongoing learning
Scripts for a wide range of experiential exercises
A variety of useful client worksheets and handouts
MP3 recordings 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
ABOUT RUSS HARRIS
Dr Russ Harris, author of the best-selling self-help book ‘The Happiness Trap‘, is an internationally-renowned trainer of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT). Russ’s background is in medicine. As a GP he became increasingly interested in the psychological aspects of health and wellbeing, and increasingly disenchanted with writing prescriptions. Ultimately this interest led to a total career change, and he now works in two different, yet complementary roles: both as a therapist and as a coach.
Since 2005, Russ has run over 800 two-day workshops and provided ACT training for 80,000 health professionals. He has authored four ACT textbooks (ACT Made Simple, Trauma Focused ACT, Getting Unstuck in ACT, ACT Questions & Answers), and four ACT-based self-help books (The Happiness Trap, The Reality Slap, The Confidence Gap and ACT with Love). In addition, he has co-authored two other self-help books: The Weight Escape and The Happiness Trap Pocketbook. His best-known book, The Happiness Trap, has sold over one million copies worldwide, with translations into more than 30 languages. (To download the opening chapter, click here.)
Russ has a unique model for training, which he calls ‘ACT Made Simple’, because it covers so much material in a short space of time. (In fact, he even has even written an introductory text book on ACT, titled ‘ACT Made Simple’. To download the first chapter, click here.) He proudly proclaims each workshop a ‘jargon-free zone’ – and bases his training on three core values: simplicity, clarity, and having fun. Hishighly-acclaimed ACT workshops are brief, powerful, cost-effective and life-enhancing. Participants regularly report not only major improvements in their therapy and/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 totestimonials )
WORKSHOP PRICES
Prices are less for advance payment. Hover over or click on a workshop to get the current price.
2-day workshop:
Super Keen $525 -
Early Birds $550 - Standard $595 - Last minute $620 -
