Bespoke Members
Introduction
Chronic pain is a perplexing and complex concern, both for those who have it and for their treatment providers. There are few, if any, health conditions that have the same profound effect on physical functioning, mental wellbeing, productivity, social relationships, and healthcare. There is reasonable evidence indicating that as people with chronic pain let go of the struggle for pain control, cultivate openness and curiosity to present-moment experiences, and commit to values-driven action, suffering is reduced and quality of life improves - even while pain persists. These processes - acceptance/willingness, present-focused awareness, and values-based action - are the cornerstones of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a well-established behavioural intervention for chronic pain. A central tenet of ACT is that a rich, meaningful, and fulfilling life is possible without relentless pursuit of pain reduction, relief, or management. This perspective offers both hope and liberation not only for those living with chronic pain, but - perhaps - also for treatment providers.
The event will be equivalent to 5.1/2hrs of CPD.
Content
This presentation will introduce the ACT model, including its intervention goals, therapeutic methods, and key clinical considerations. A description of the central treatment principles and processes will allow attendees to orient to the goals of intervention and demonstrations will show how these principles can scaffold patient orientation to the treatment model as well. Values clarification methods will be demonstrated and the progression from initial values identification and practice inside of treatment to engagement of values-based action outside of treatment will be illustrated. Awareness and perspective taking exercises will be practiced, and their use as both an anchor to the present moment and as a method to aid in the selection of healthy action will be reviewed. Finally, the role and facilitation of willingness as a useful quality of behaviour will be reviewed in clinical exercises. Across this brief workshop, the clinician as active agent of behaviour change will be highlighted, from basic processes such as modelling through to more complex processes, such as the use of exposure and shaping exercises to aid patients in behavioural and psychological flexibility.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this six-hour orientation to the model, attendees can expect to be able to:
1. Describe the ACT theoretical model with regard to at least 3 treatment targets.
2. Model at least one clinical skill designed to augment acceptance, mindfulness, and clarity in valued actions.
3. Identify the role of values-based actions in treatment planning and be able to demonstrate initial values clarification exercises.
4. Articulate the relation between the theoretical principles of ACT, their assessment in treatment, and their utility in deriving a shared treatment plan with treatment recipients.
5. Prioritize the components of an ACT for Chronic Pain case conceptualization.
6. Identify how ACT processes are relevant to the treatment of chronic pain.
Training Modalities
Didactics, Q&A, demonstration, self-guided exercises with feedback
Key References
McCracken L. M. (2024). Psychological flexibility, chronic pain, and health. Annual Review of Psychology, 75, 601–624. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37585667/)
McCracken, L. M., & Vowles, K. E. (2026). Editorial overview: Where we are, and where we are
going, in chronic pain research. Current Opinion in Psychology, 69, 102287. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352250X26000230?via%3Dihub)
McCracken, L. M., Yu, L., Vowles, K. E. (2022). New generation psychological treatments in
chronic pain: Clinical outcomes and processes of therapeutic change. British Medical Journal, 376, e057212. (https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj-2021-057212.long)
Vowles, K. E. (2022). Chronic pain: Third wave case conceptualizations. In W. O’Donohue &
A. Masuda (Eds.), Behavior therapy: First, second, and third waves (pp. 697 - 719). New York: Springer. (https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/chronic-pain-third-wave-case-conceptualizations/)
Vowles, K. E., Pielech, M., Edwards, K. A., McEntee, M. L., & Bailey, R. W. (2020). A
comparative meta-analysis of unidisciplinary psychology and interdisciplinary treatment outcomes following Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for adults with chronic pain. Journal of Pain, 21, 529-545. (https://www.jpain.org/action/showPdf?pii=S1526-5900%2819%2930841-7)
Vowles, K. E., McCracken, L. M., & Zhao-O’Brien, J. (2011). Acceptance and values-based
action in chronic pain: A three year follow-up analysis of treatment effectiveness and process. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49, 748-755. https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/182029032/Bath_3_year_follow_up_manuscript_PURE.pdf)
About the presenter
Kevin E Vowles and Lance M McCracken are two clinical psychologists who have worked in chronic pain and its interdisciplinary rehabilitation for decades. They have worked together in various places, including the Bath Centre for Pain Services in the UK, where Lance was the service’s clinical lead, and have co-authored more than 30 papers or book chapters with one another, including a number of outcome studies in relation to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for chronic pain. They have authored or co-authored several measures and treatment protocols relevant to ACT, all of which are publicly available. Individually, they have provided hundreds of professional presentations and trainings relevant to chronic pain and are widely published in this area.
Kevin E. Vowles holds joint positions within Queen's University – Belfast, where he is a Professor of Clinical Psychology, and the Belfast Centre for Pain Rehabilitation, where he works as part of the interdisciplinary treatment team. Kevin completed his PhD in clinical psychology at West Virginia University in 2004 and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia the following year. From 2005 to 2012, he held joint positions in academia and with the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, first in Bath and later in the midlands. From 2012 to 2019, he was on the faculty of the Department of Psychology at the University of New Mexico.
Lance M McCracken is Professor and Head of Division in Clinical Psychology, Psychology Department, Uppsala University, Sweden. He completed his PhD at West Virginia University and a post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins. He then worked in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago. He was later the Clinical Lead at the Bath Center for Pain Services in the UK, and later still was Professor of Behavioral Medicine at King's College London until 2018.
Who should attend
Healthcare professionals working with individuals who have chronic pain, including psychologists, social workers, physicians, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, as well as trainees in these disciplines. The seminar will serve as an introduction to principles of ACT specifically as they apply in treatment for those with chronic pain. Therefore, the overall level will be geared towards those who are relatively new to ACT, its application to chronic pain, and its underlying theoretical framework.