Does anyone have any experience or comments that might help?

Is anyone aware of any pre-doctoral internships in clinical psychology that
offer training in ACT or other acceptance and mindfulness based therapies,
particularly sites that focus on children and/or adolescents?  Any information
regarding child/adolescent-focused internship sites where ACT or
acceptance/mindfulness practioners are located (though training in this area may
not be explicit) would also be helpful.

Hello,
I have not had many responses to a request I posted on the list so I am emailing
some folks directly and hoping that you will not see this as intrusive. If you
do - please ignore this email.

I am writing some adolescent handouts for therapy and using a research process
to evaluate them - the Delphi method for consensus. The process requires three
rounds of evaluation (1) asking some experts for their opinion, (2) writing
materials and asking experts to rate them, and (3) asking adolescents to rate
them. Once this is done I plan to post them on ACBS.

So I wondered if you would consider helping me with the first step (it's basic
and seems obvious but it's part of the Delphi process not to assume content)

Would you be willing to provide me with a few brief thoughts to these questions
please? (email me or my student caseytonkin@... ):

1. Suggestions for up to 6 topics for written handouts that a therapist could
use to help a young person reflect on ACT out of the session (I am aiming for
brief with low reading level?
2. For each topic do you have suggestions about how you like to communicate this
information to young people (e.g. you might name a metaphor, pictures, story,
image, experience, etc...)

I need to get writing on these by March 12th so I hope you would take a few
minutes to help. You don't need to work with young people or consider yourself
an expert on ACT

I have attached the required ethics/IRB approval FYI.

Kind regards, Louise

Dr Louise Hayes
PhD, Clinical Psychologist, MAPS
University of Ballarat & CAMHS Ballarat
Phone: 0417 554 003
Email: louiseha@...
Email: l.hayes@...

CAMHS Ballarat
111 Ascot Street South
Ballarat, 3353
From: Louise Hayes [mailto:louisehayes@...]
Sent: Monday, 23 February 2009 1:31 PM
To: 'acceptanceandcommitmenttherapy_ANZO@yahoogroups.com';
'acceptanceandcommitmenttherapy@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: can you help us evaluate youth handouts on ACT

Hi,
I am working on a project of writing some brief handouts for youth. The aim is
not for the handouts to explain ACT in its entirety but to provide a take-home
message outside therapy.  I am planning to have adolescents evaluate the message
to try and make them appropriate for this age (16 to 21), but before I ask
teenagers we would like professionals to also evaluate their ACT consistency
(using Delphi method). If folks out there are willing to take part in the
professional evaluation of the materials before we ask teenagers I would be
really grateful.

I think when writing for adolescents it’s really important to check how they
interpret it. I recently watched a group of adolescents cry with laughter as
they recounted another professionals attempts to teach them a mindfulness skill
in their classroom at school.  On explanation it didn’t seem that that the
professional got it wrong – just that the adolescents saw it as irrelevant and
downright funny.

The details are below on Casey’s post we would be grateful if some folks are
willing to help out.

Dr Louise Hayes
PhD, Clinical Psychologist, MAPS
University of Ballarat & CAMHS Ballarat


From: acceptanceandcommitmenttherapy@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:acceptanceandcommitmenttherapy@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Casey
Tonkin
Sent: Tuesday, 17 February 2009 5:25 PM
To: acceptanceandcommitmenttherapy@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [acceptanceandcommitmenttherapy] Evaluation of written handouts on ACT

Dear ACT Practitioner,
  Are you willing to evaluate some written handouts on ACT for youth? We are
seeking the help of ACT practitioners - at this stage to answer two questions
(see below). You do not need to be an ACT ‘expert’. We are developing
written handouts for practitioners that can be used with youth (15 to 25 years).
They will be brief written handouts for clients as a ‘take home’ message to
reflect on the work done in session. Many young people are overwhelmed by a book
and it is hoped a brief handout can be used to reflect on the session. To
evaluate if the materials suit our young audience we will research the outcomes
using the Delphi method to gain expert and consumer opinion. This research is
being conducted by Casey Tonkin, a graduate student under the supervision of
Louise Hayes at the University of Ballarat, Australia.
Here are the two questions we would be most grateful if you would answer (via
backchannel):
1. Can you help us by suggesting 6 topics for written handouts that would most
help young people reflect on ACT out of the session?
2. For each of the 6 topics, do you have suggestions about how to best
communicate the information to young people (e.g. you might name a metaphor,
story, image, experience, etc...)

Please send replies via backchannel so we don’t clog the list –
caseytonkin@...

Your answers will be anonymous – we will remove your email address.

Attached is the plain language statement outlining the study in further detail.

Kind Regards,

Casey Tonkin

Hi,

I am a PhD student and am interested in training the mindfulness
component of ACT to adolescents with emotional and behavioural
difficuties. Does anyone have any experience of potential ethics
involved in training only a handful (say 8) of the adolescents at this
school rather than every pupil?

Also, I would be very grateful if anyone can suggest any mindfulness
practices that may work well with these individuals.

Thanks

Jess

Greetings listies

I have some handouts that I've used with kids. One that really helps with
willingness to leap is about baseball stats. Those players with the highest home
run records also pretty consistently have the strikeout records too.

I would be more than happy to forward these along in about 6 weeks (I closed my
practice for the year to live overseas and we return Aug 1 - and I return to
work in Sept.....so I will get back to you all!)


Mary Englert MS MA LPC
Portland OR (temporarily in Rome)


--- On Fri, 6/27/08, LeslieKA98 <ljrogers@...> wrote:

> From: LeslieKA98 <ljrogers@...>
> Subject: [kidact] kid work
> To: kidact@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Friday, June 27, 2008, 11:25 AM
> Hey all
> I am trying to make a list of kid resources...relevant
> favorite exercises. Anyone have any
> favorites? Thanks Leslie

Hey all
I am trying to make a list of kid resources...relevant favorite exercises.
Anyone have any
favorites? Thanks Leslie

Louise
Hi, i do agree that the components of ACT could and do appear
abstract. However, I think if one truly understands functional
contextualism and behavior analysis they are able to make the
components of ACT concrete. As I said in my talk the other day this
is what I learned before the hexaflex was born. As a result of
learning it this way, I was able to implement ACT strategies in
classrooms and in session with little ones.  After all in ACT we are
playing for behavioral/psychological flexibility.

Nice exercise. We've used shaving cream and gotten similiar effects.
Take care, Leslie


  In kidact@yahoogroups.com, "Louise Hayes" <louisehayes@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
> I think it seems difficult to do ACT with kids because as adults we
are
> uncomfortable letting go of our words. How do you explain, with
simple
> concrete actions or explanations, the complex verbal relations we
> understand from the ACT model? It's tough. That's why I think we
need
> the research because I suspect some things will work with kids and
> others will fail and we need to be able to work this out to come up
> with a transfer of the abstract concepts of the ACT model into
concrete
> concepts for kids.
>
> An example, I had a group of 15 year old girls today and we worked
> together on a present moment exercise. Their idea – finger-
painting,
> then covering their hands in paint, and then shaking hands with
each
> other to share the colours and loving/hating the squishy feel. They
> were able to discuss the concept of being present in comparison to
> listening to their passengers on the bus. I could not have planned
it
> that way and it was so great to see them laughing and understanding
> being present.
>
> Louise
>

Hi,
I think it seems difficult to do ACT with kids because as adults we are
uncomfortable letting go of our words. How do you explain, with simple
concrete actions or explanations, the complex verbal relations we
understand from the ACT model? It's tough. That's why I think we need
the research because I suspect some things will work with kids and
others will fail and we need to be able to work this out to come up
with a transfer of the abstract concepts of the ACT model into concrete
concepts for kids.

An example, I had a group of 15 year old girls today and we worked
together on a present moment exercise. Their idea – finger-painting,
then covering their hands in paint, and then shaking hands with each
other to share the colours and loving/hating the squishy feel. They
were able to discuss the concept of being present in comparison to
listening to their passengers on the bus. I could not have planned it
that way and it was so great to see them laughing and understanding
being present.

Louise

I actually agree that this is a great idea. I was saddened by the lack
of kid things on the agenda this year. I actually had someone mention
to me that they thought ACT was too abstract to be done with kids over
dinner. I actually explained that I feel that although I came into grad
school as an adult person. I fell in love ACT while using it on kids. I
hope that this will be a collaborative fun list serve where we can see
what everyone else is up to. It was nice to here at SI research was
also being done in Australia.

--- In kidact@yahoogroups.com, "Lisa Coyne" <lcoyne@...> wrote:
>
>  Hi All..Greetings from Maynooth in Ireland.  I would just like to
also say congratulations on setting up this group. I was unable to
attend the SI this year though was at the ABA conference. I will be
working with adolescents families and teachers from  Spetember and
look forward to getting the views from the group. THe aim of the
project is to provided ACT targetted interventions with all three
groups. I have already done some work with the teachers and will
continue on with the rest of the programme in Spetember. If anybody
out there has done something similar I would love to hear from you.
WIth kindest regrds to all.
Ger Scanlon
>
>
>
>   _____
>
> From: Lisa Coyne [mailto:lcoyne@...]
> Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2008 10:53 AM
> To: 'kidact@yahoogroups.com'
> Subject: Great idea- thank you!
>
>
>
> Thanks, Leslie and fellow kid-acters for setting this up - it has
been a
> long time coming, I think!  Looking forward to posts and news from
ACT SI,
> as I wasn't able to attend this year!! -Lisa
>
>
>
> Lisa W. Coyne, Ph.D.
>
> Assistant Professor
>
> Director, Early Childhood Research Clinic
>
> Associate Director, Graduate Curriculum
>
> Psychology Department
>
> Suffolk University
>
> 41 Temple Street
>
> Boston, MA 02114
>
> Office Phone: 617-305-6363
>
> Email: lcoyne@...
>