Dr. Amy Murrell, University of North Texas
Dr. Amy Murrell is an assistant professor at the University of North Texas. She obtained her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Mississippi in 2005, after completing internship at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. She is a recognized expert in both Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Relational Frame Theory, which underlies ACT, having conducted research in these two areas for the last 7 years. She is currently the author of 7 publications on ACT and RFT and has given over 50 presentations on these topics, conducting trainings internationally. Dr. Murrell has written four ACT treatment protocols, two of which have been used in multiple studies in the U.S., England, Ireland, Australia, and Sweden. She has acted as a therapist for several of these studies as well, and is currently training students to do so.
Dr. Murrell and her students are currently seeing clients for therapy. In addition, they are working on about 10 research projects that focus on ACT and/or RFT. Most of these projects focus on children and families, although several of them are being conducted with college students.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a third-wave behavioral treatment that rests upon the idea that people’s problems may get worse when they try to control or get rid-of feelings or thoughts. ACT, therefore, is not aimed at symptom removal. Instead, it is about helping clients live meaningfully. The work is about helping people interact differently with their experiences and helping them to act differently when they have bad feelings or thoughts. The work involves getting people doing things that they were not doing before. Not just any things, however, only the things that are really important to them- the behaviors that are consistent with their values-what they really care about.
This day-long training on ACT will include discussion of the basic model and core components. Case conceptualization and commonly used interventions will be addressed. The morning will be primarily didactic, with an introduction to the third wave philosophy and a brief description of theory. Each of the six core components will be defined. The afternoon is intended to be more experiential. As examples of experiential work, participants may be asked to role-play, or participate in guided imaginal exposure exercises. Through participation in various exercises, attendees will learn to foster acceptance, mindfulness, and committed action toward values. Some time at the end of the day will be also be devoted to a question and answer session. Participants will be encouraged to present hypothetical or appropriately disguised cases with which they are struggling or have concerns. This is an introductory workshop. Those unfamiliar with or new to the ACT model are encouraged to attend.
Participants will learn to: (a) conceptualize cases from a functional contextual viewpoint, consistent with the ACT model and (b) define and model the six core ACT processes.
For more information about ACT, please read, “ Embracing your Demons: An Overview of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy" (.pdf), by Dr. Russell Harris
Date Updated: 09-AUG-2008
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