Objectives:

• Understand and describe the language-based processes that create human suffering
• Understand and describe the six fundamental processes that underlie psychological inflexibility/flexibility proposed by ACT and apply them in case conceptualization
• Learn and practice strategies to help your clients learn to accepttheir own emotions and learn to relate to their own thoughts differently in order to decrease their negative psychological impact
• Learn and practice a unique set of experientialandmindfulness-based exercises to promote acceptanceof self and others to better help your clients
• Learn and practice exercises to help your clients clarify personal valuesin order to support long-term change efforts related to those values and, therefore, live more fulfilling lives

Patricia Juarez joined the Latino Alcohol and Health Disparities Research and Training Center (LAHDR)at the University of Texas at El Paso on January 2015 as Training Director, providing trainings and supervision in evidence-based interventions, primarily Motivational Interviewing, Brief Motivational Interventions, as well as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). 

She has substantial experience in the practice of and training in ACT, which is an evidence-based treatment approach to address a wide range of psychological disorders and everyday life challenges, including substance use, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, psychotic symptoms, stress, grief, chronic pain and the management of other chronic health conditions. She has received extensive training in ACT as well as in Clinical Functional Contextualism, Mindfulness and Compassion based Psychotherapy, and Focused ACT by developers Stephen C. Hayes, Kelly Wilson and Kirk Strosahl, as well as from other internationally recognized trainers, such as Benjamin Schoendorff and Robin Walser. She has been a member of the Association of Contextual Behavioral Sciences since 2006 and is in the process of becoming a certified ACT trainer.