Why this course?

How ACT for Chronic Pain can enhance your practice

Discover how to help your patients drop the struggle with chronic pain, reduce fear and anxiety, and reclaim a full and active life.

Experience the satisfaction of helping your patients suffer less and enjoy life more.The biopsychosocial model is the paradigm from which all health care professionals are expected to treat pain. Our program offers you in-depth training, mentorship, and cutting-edge research on how to use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to treat chronic pain.

This self-paced, online training program has been designed for physical therapists, occupational therapists, health coaches, nurses, physicians, and mental health professionals.

Professionals across the globe are using ACT in a variety of clinical practice settings that treat painful conditions including rehabilitation, orthopedics, neurology, women’s health, pediatrics, and more.

Benefits of this programme

  • Improved outcomes

    Patients who are empowered to make decisions about their health that better reflect their personal circumstances experience improved health outcomes.

  • Community support

    Network with your peers and Dr Joe Tatta, share best practice and research interests. Identify the root cause of patient pain and assess patients and clients holistically.

  • Increase referrals

    Evidenced-based strategies and techniques to increase your referrals and generate higher revenues for your practice.

Course Description

Practitioners are now expected to recognize pain-associated psychosocial distress and to modify their treatment. However, a gap exists between learning how to identify pain-associated psychosocial distress in patients and applying treatment required to effectively manage people with pain in clinical practice. 

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain is a cutting-edge clinical training program designed to show you how to break the cycle of suffering by addressing the psychosocial causes of pain. In this course, you will learn how to help your patients drop the struggle with chronic pain, reduce fear and anxiety, and reclaim a full and active life. This course builds upon the established professional expertise of practitioners and incorporates evidence-based psychological techniques that are associated with improved patient outcomes. 

Using principles of ACT is a form of psychologically-informed physical therapy (PIPT) and part of the scope of practice for all physical therapists. With the knowledge you gain from this program, you’ll be able to implement ACT principles and techniques for patients with chronic pain and improve outcomes!

"I've structured the course to keep things sequential and straightforward to assimilate [Dr Joe Tatta]

#1: Describe the six processes of the ACT model.

#2: Define psychological flexibility/inflexibility.

#3:Develop a more thorough and integrated understanding of the ACT model.

#4: Identify how to reduce experiential avoidance by implementing behavioral willingness techniques with a client who has fibromyalgia.

#5: Define ACT cognitive defusion and its relationship to pain catastrophizing.

#6:Describe two techniques for increasing psychological flexibility for a patient with fibromyalgia.

#7: Describe how ACT promotes pain acceptance guided by values-based living in a patient with chronic low back pain.

#8: Summarize core ACT concepts through the use of three patient case examples.

#9: Describe 2 ACT-specific mindfulness techniques for acceptance.

#10: Describe how the ACT model can be used for chronic stress regulation.

#11: Summarize core ACT concepts through the use of three patient case examples.

#12: Develop two mindfulness exercises to be used in an ACT intervention.

#13: Evaluate client behaviors, such as experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, and values-oriented living.

#14: Demonstrate increased skill in conceptualizing cases using the ACT model.

#15: Integrate two defusion and acceptance techniques into psychology practice.

#16: Integrate one new technique for helping clients articulate their values and identify workable actions so they can return to physical function.

#17: Explain how the ACT model enhances the therapeutic relationship.

#18: Explain three examples of self-as-context processes.

#19: List three techniques for mindful observation of pain and engagement on the part of a client during a session.

#20: Describe three ways of reading and responding to values processes as they show up in a session.

When you incorporate the tools and strategies in ACT for Chronic Pain into your practice, you will:

#1: Master new techniques to treat the psychosocial aspects of pain

#2:Help your patients alleviate the suffering associated with their chronic pain

#3: Gain a reputation as the premier go-to resource for pain care within your community

#4:Experience significant improvement in patient satisfaction and functional outcomes

#5: Move ahead of the curve and advance your practice beyond the outdated biomedical model

#6: Become a hero to your patients, as they re-engage with life and activities that bring them joy

Course Detail

Use the arrows below to expand each section

    1. 👉Begin Here

    1. 🎥Science and Theory of ACT

    2. 🎥 Language, Cognition and Suffering

    3. 🎥Metaphors in ACT

    4. 🎥 Illusion of Control

    5. 🎥 Psychological flexibility & hexaflex model

    6. 🖨ACT week 1 slides

    7. 🧩Processes Targeted with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

    8. 🧠 Quicksand & Hungry Tiger Metaphors

    9. 🎉Week #1 Quiz

    10. 🏥 Take it to the Clinic!

    11. 🤓 OPTIONAL READING - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Health Behavior Change: A Contextually-Driven Approach

    1. 🎥 ACT Week 2

    2. 🖨ACT Week 2 Slides

    3. 🎥Case Study - Creative Hoplessness

    4. 🎥Case Study - Mining for Solutions - an optional followup to creative hopelessness

    5. 🧩Creative Hopelessness Transcript

    6. 📝Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire

    7. 📝 ACT Core Competency Self-Assessment for Clinicians

    8. 🧠Chinese Finger Trap Metaphor

    9. 🎉Week #2 Quiz

    10. 🏥 Take It to the Clinic!

    11. 🤓 OPTIONAL READING - The impact of experiential avoidance on the relations between illness representations, pain catastrophising and pain interference in chronic pain

    1. 🎥ACT Week #3

    2. 🖨 ACT Week #3 Slides

    3. 🎥- VA Values and Committed Action

    4. 🎥Case Study: Brief Bullseye and Values Clarification

    5. 📝 Bulls Eye Exercise

    6. 🧩Bull's Eye Transcript

    7. 📝 Life Compass

    8. 🧩Values Words

    9. 🧠 Compass Metaphor

    10. 🎉Week #3 Quiz

    11. 🏥 Take it to the Clinic!

    12. 🤓 OPTIONAL TRAINING - Valued-Living-Questionnaire

    13. 🤓 OPTIONAL READING - Towards a physically more active lifestyle based on one’s own values: results of a RCT among physically inactive adults

    1. Coaching Call Access

    1. 🎥 Defusion 1

    2. 🎥 Defusion 2

    3. 🎥 VA Defusion Video

    4. 🖨 Week #4 slides

    5. 📝Clean and Dirty Pain

    6. 🎥 Mindfulness Defusion Exercises

    7. 🖨 Mindfulness & Defusion Transcript

    8. 📝The Protector Within from Radical Relief

    9. 🎥Case Study - Naming the Protector Within

    10. 📝Pain Chain

    11. 📝 Hooked By Thoughts

    12. 🎉Week #4 Quiz

    13. 🏥 Take it to the Clinic!

    14. 🤓 OPTIONAL READING - Cognitive Restructuring Cognitive Defusion for Negative Thoughts

About this course

  • $599.00
  • 101 lessons
  • 8 hours of video content

Faculty

Meet your instructor

Joe Tatta PT, DPT, CNS

Dr. Joe Tatta is the founder of the Integrative Pain Science Institute, a cutting-edge health company reinventing pain care through evidence-based treatment, research, and professional development. His research and career achievements include scalable practice models centered on health behavior change, integrative medicine, and methods that empower physical therapists to serve at the top of their scope of practice as primary providers of healthcare. He is a speaker, author, hosts a podcast, adjunct professor, and guest lecturer in many DPT programs.

What professionals are saying...

Michael Zabala Aquino, PT, DPT.

Owner of Deconstruct Health

The ACT for Chronic Pain course helped further my psychology-informed practice as a physical therapist. The concept of willingness to feel discomfort has helped so many of my patients change how they perceive their pain and has reduced their negative thoughts and beliefs surrounding pain.

Pam Tutten, OTD, CHT.

Director at BenchMark Rehabilitation

Joe is breaking ground on an important topic for all practitioners who treat pain. ACT is an empirically supported therapy that supports both the physical and emotional experience of pain. Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy with ACT improves patient outcomes and helps them return to a full and active life. I am able to incorporate the ACT principles in hand therapy and in my group program for patients with osteoporosis.

Susie Gronski, PT, DPT.

Pelvic Health Physical Therapist

I highly recommend the ACT for Chronic Pain program. Weaving ACT into my physical therapy practice has been a game changer. It has shifted the focus from one of pain reduction to values-based living, and has helped tremendously with increasing movement and physical activity.

JoAnne Dahl, PhD ACT.

Psychologist

Joe is breaking the glass ceiling on psychologically-informed care for all health professionals, and ACT is the perfect vehicle to help your patients open up and live life beyond pain.

FAQs

Feel free to get in touch using the 'Support' link in the footer if you don't find the answer to your questions (opens your default email program).

  • Is this program approved for CEUs?

    Yes! This course is approved for 20 CEUs for PTs and OTs.

    The Integrative Pain Science Institute is recognized by the New York State Education Department, State Board of Physical Therapy as an approved provider of physical therapist and physical therapist assistant continuing education. This course is approved in New York as well as more than 34 states through reciprocity (see below for a list of states).

    STATES PRE-APPROVED THROUGH RECIPROCITY:

    Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida (Rule 64B17-9), Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming

    ​​This course is also approved by the Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners.

    NOTE: Some states still do not require continuing education for re-licensure. In addition, some states do not perform verification of continuing education material, which means they do not approve courses for CEU credit and usually accept any material. Please check with your state physical therapy association or state PT board for more details.

    For participants outside of the United States or those who do not require a formal CEU certificate, we will be happy to provide a Letter of Participation form that you may keep for your records. Upon completion of the course, please contact us at [email protected] to request the form. Please check with your industry governing body to confirm whether this is required for your continuing education.

  • How long do I have to access or complete the program?

    Registration includes unlimited access. You have as long as you need to complete the program and you can come back to the training as many times as needed.

  • Can I work on the program at my own pace?

    This is an on-demand program. Each week you will receive new content. The program can be accessed in real-time, anywhere, and at any time. If you fall behind you can catch up at your own pace.

  • How many hours per week do I have to dedicate to learning?

    This program requires approximately 1-2 hours per week to complete.

  • How is the information presented?

    Lessons are available in a variety of formats to make learning easy and fun, including video, audio, transcripts, study guides, PDF handouts and quizzes.

Register now!

You will also receive FREE exclusive access to …

  • Coaching and Mentorship Call

    One-on-one calls with Dr Joe Tatta for personalised support and guidance

  • Networking Forum

    Our digital community incorporates an online forum where you can share best practice, research interests, and benefit from peer-to-peer support

  • Free Updates

    Receive free updates on all courses to keep your practice consistent with the latest research and knowledge exchange

Plus, Get These Exclusive Bonuses...

  • Bonus #1: PDFs of All Video Trainings

    I know you’re busy. That’s why you’ll get access to transcripts of all video training so you can quickly consume, review or highlight the material that’s most relevant to you. These are beautifully formatted PDFs for easy printing and include step-by-step guides for all experiential and mindfulness exercises to make learning as easy as 1-2-3!

  • Bonus #2: Clinical Protocol Manual

    A clinician’s manual and step-by-step protocol guide so you’ll always know exactly what to do. This “paint-by-numbers” manual is designed to make your work as simple as possible, so you can implement ACT with more ease and confidence.

  • Bonus #3: Lifetime Access to the Course

    I understand sometimes life gets in the way. If your progress gets stalled for any reason, no worries! You can go back in and resume your studies at any time. The material is there for you when you need it—even if that’s months or years from now. Plus, you get complimentary upgrades whenever I update the course again. How’s that for a warm welcome?