The ACT Toolkit: Getting Started with the Matrix
The ACT Toolkit: Getting Started with the Matrix
Description:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an innovative contemporary form of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) that has been used to help clients with a wide range of psychological disorders and difficulties in living. Many learners struggle to access, understand, and start to use ACT due to the depth and complexity of its model. The ACT Matix is a clinical and conceptual tool that can help learners both understand the core features of ACT and start using ACT more quickly. The ACT Matrix provides a relatively simpler way to interface with and move the core ACT processes, potentially helping clients more effectively.
Friday Lunch Series presentation from noon to 1 pm. 1 CE for Maine psychologists, social workers, and counselors. Early registration price ($25) valid > 1 month prior to event date. Full price=$30.
Learning Objectives:
As a result of engaging in the presentation, attendees will be able to:
Discern and describe “toward” vs “away moves” based on their function.
Summarize how the ACT Matrix depicts both patterns of suffering/struggle and thriving.
Use the ACT Matrix to sort thoughts, feelings, and behaviors using a personal example.
Presenter Bio:
Joel Guarna, PhD is a licensed psychologist in the state of Maine. He earned his PhD from Bowling Green State University in 2000 and trained at the Boston Consortium in Clinical Psychology. He later served as a staff psychologist in the VA Healthcare System in Boston. He has worked in a variety of medical settings including Maine Medical Partners Endocrinology and Diabetes Center in Scarborough and the Mercy Pain Center. Joel was a Clinical Assistant Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine (until 2024) while serving as Behavioral Health Faculty Lead at the MMC Family Medicine Residency. After running his own private practice in Portland for 18 years, Joel joined Psychology Specialists of Maine (PSM) in 2024. He currently serves as Director of Education and Outreach at PSM, coordinating a variety of educational experiences while seeing a caseload of clients. Joel has been a student of ACT since 1999 and has given over 50 presentations on ACT both locally and at regional and international conferences from Seattle to London. He is a founding member of the Southern Maine ACT (SMACT) community and remains active in leading study groups and providing consultation through SMACT.