2 Day Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Chronic Pain

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Program Information

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

Handouts

Speaker

Jennifer Caspari, PhD Related seminars and products

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Jennifer Caspari, PhD, is an associate psychologist with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Associates of Denver who specializes in delivering evidence-based psychotherapies to adults with acute and chronic health issues including chronic pain, chronic fatigue, sleep difficulty/insomnia, cancer, body image issues, disordered eating, and other health concerns.

Her collaborative, warm, and empathetic approach focuses on enhancing functioning, ability to engage in values-based behaviors, and overall quality of life. Dr. Caspari aims to support clients in gaining awareness of their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and to translate that insight into helpful and personally worthwhile change in their daily lives.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Jennifer Caspari has employment relationships with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Associates of Denver. She is a blogger with Psychology Todayand receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Caspari receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Jennifer Caspari is a member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science and the American Psychological Association.

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Objectives

1. Assess common psychosocial challenges associated with chronic pain.
2. Appraise psychological and behavioral risk factors that contribute to depression, anxiety, and distress in individuals living with chronic pain.
3. Analyze the six core processes of ACT and their relationship to the chronic pain experience.
4. Utilize the core principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in chronic pain treatment.
5. Assess the role of pain acceptance and psychological flexibility in reducing the dominance of pain and improving daily functioning.
6. Assess previous pain management strategies to inform treatment planning.
7. Choose ACT-based interventions to address avoidance patterns and control strategies commonly seen in chronic pain clients.
8. Utilize acceptance- and willingness-based strategies to reduce pain-related anxiety and emotional reactivity.
9. Evaluate the relationship between cognitive fusion, mood, and pain.
10. Choose mindfulness-based techniques to help clients observe pain sensations, regulate distress, and anchor attention during pain flares.
11. Utilize values clarification and committed action strategies to support sustained behavior change and engagement in meaningful activities.
12. Apply clinical strategies to help clients identify and address barriers to their chosen committed actions.

Outline

Client Psychosocial Concerns Related to Chronic Pain

• Loss of physical functioning: identity, coping, mentality, and distress
• Role changes, self-esteem, and confidence
• Loss within relationships: social connectedness, sexual connection, autonomy, and more
• Loss of quality of life: Risk factors
• Co-occurrence with depression, anxiety, and other mood concerns
• Lack of acceptance/decreased self-worth

ACT and Chronic Pain Fundamentals: Core Processes, Case Conceptualization, and Setting the Stage for Treatment

• Psychological flexibility & General aims of ACT
• ACT’s 6 core processes: Overview
• Why the theoretical approach of ACT fits well with chronic pain
• The key role of pain acceptance
• Reducing the dominance of pain in one’s life through psychological flexibility
• Role of self-compassion in psychological flexibility and distress
• General clinical goals
• Research, limitations and risks
• Indications and contraindications

Uncover Your Clients Unique Pain Experience: Creating a Client- Centered Treatment Plan

• How to identify your client’s unique pain concerns
• Defining what health, well-being, and quality of life mean to the client
• Identifying the client’s values and what is important to them

Tackle Chronic Pain’s Grip: ACT Tools to Address the Change Agenda and Limits of Control

• Chronic pain history and recovery attempts
• Short and long-term benefits and costs of previous pain treatments
• “Clean” and “Dirty” pain exercise - confronting avoidance patterns
• Breaking down the pain chain exercise
• Shift from pain control to values-driven living

Acceptance & Willingness Skills to Thrive Amidst Chronic Pain

• ACT-based definitions and how client defines them
• Goals of building willingness skills
• Passengers on the bus metaphor: creating detachment from pain
• General willingness exercise to reduce pain anxiety
• Chinese finger trap exercise: accepting pain as an unavoidable sensation
• Welcoming pain mindfulness exercise: Observing without judgment

Cognitive Defusion Interventions: Using ACT to Separate Client’s Thoughts from Suffering

• Understand cognitive defusion
• When cognitive defusion is helpful
• The rules governing pain perception
• Create a painful thinking diary: track and analyze thoughts about pain
• 3 cognitive defusion exercises to:
  • Reduce the intensity of pain-related emotion
  • Distance clients from pain related thoughts
  • Shift from pain avoidance to proactive management

Mindfulness Techniques for Chronic Pain Management

• When to use mindfulness and with whom
• Mindful breathing for pain-related tension and stress
• Mindful notice and name – label pain sensations for better pain management
• Quick techniques for immediate pain relief
• Anchor in the present moment when pain becomes overwhelming
• S.T.O.P. exercise – assess your pain experience and respond

Other Applications and Clinical Takeaways of ACT for Pain

• The observer self and its role in pain management
• Values and carrying pain
• How values related to pain tolerance
• Committed action: identify and address barriers
• The costs of pain and the coin metaphor
• Acceptance of pain every day as an active choice

Target Audience

• Counsellors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Art Therapists
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Addiction Counsellors
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals