ACT for Adolescents
This fun and engaging course teaches practical, developmentally appropriate skills and strategies, for the flexible use of ACT with adolescents.
About the course
4.7
Start date
Starts 13 October 2026Length
6 weeks | 16hrs total (12 Months Access)Who this course is for
For Mental Health & Health Professionals, CoachesOrganization Enquiries
Find out moreThe lifetime prevalence of mental health disorders is highest in the age group of 12 to 25 years. Yet many young people are reluctant to seek help - and even when they do attend, therapists often find it hard to engage them.
This 6-week in-depth training teaches you how to overcome resistance, engage young people in therapy, and adapt the ACT model so it’s interesting and developmentally appropriate. A host of world-renowned experts on ACT with youth – including Darin Cairns, Reyelle McKeever, Sacha Rombouts, (Australia), Chris McCurry and Amy Murrell (USA), Ben Sedley (New Zealand), and Sheri Turrell (Canada) – will share, explain and illustrate their approaches to ACT with adolescents. Each week you’ll get to watch therapy sessions, where our experts demonstrate specific youth-focused ACT interventions – and Russ will give you an in-depth analysis of every technique and strategy.
What You Will Learn
Russ and his team of experts will take you step-by-step through specialised adaptions of ACT for youth, in a format that’s both engaging and entertaining. You’ll learn how to:
Rapidly bypass resistance and build genuine rapport with coerced or hesitant clients that would rather be anywhere else but there with you.
How to use teen-friendly language to convey complex ACT concepts quickly and simply.
How to fluidly dance around the ACT hexaflex without getting stuck.
Establish genuine and meaningful connections with your clients.
Use art – including photography, drawing and collage – to work with values, defusion and acceptance.
Explode your creativity: music, painting, drawing, sculpting, movies, photography, Lego … there are so many playful and engaging ways to do ACT with adolescents. You’ll see interventions involving everything from bubble wrap and paper plates to toilet rolls and jelly snakes.
Make technology your friend, to engage clients who seem distracted or defiant.
Adapt and individualise all the core processes of ACT, to suit a wide range of youth-related issues.
$590
Starts 13 October
ACT for AdolescentsEnroll now
$590
Enroll Now!
Course starts October 13Learn ACT for Adolescents with Dr Russ Harris
Dr Russ Harris, MBBS, is an internationally-renowned ACT trainer, and author of the world’s best-selling book on ACT, The Happiness Trap. Russ’s background is in medicine. As a physician, he became increasingly interested in the psychological aspects of health and wellbeing, which ultimately led him to change careers and become a therapist.
Russ’s ACT training reaches an extensive global audience of health professionals, and he has authored nine books on the ACT model. His best-known work, The Happiness Trap, has sold over one million copies, with translations into over thirty languages.
Russ's popular textbook for professionals, ACT Made Simple, reflects his genuine passion for making the principles and practice of this evidenced-based therapy simple, clear and easy to put into practice.
A Creative, Compassionate, Practical Program
This six-week interactive training gives you a wealth of tools, techniques and strategies for using ACT with young people. You’ll learn through:
Engaging in-depth video lessons: clinically rich, simple to understand, straightforward to apply, and delivered with Russ’s trademark playfulness and humour
Powerful therapy demonstrations, by five different therapists, that clearly show you how to adapt ACT for adolescents
Practical tools and step-by-step guidance – with direct feedback from Russ Harris on a daily basis
A wealth of additional written and audio materials, including eBooks, MP3 audios, and client handouts
This Training Is Ideal If You Want To:
Use ACT fluently and flexibly, with a wide range of adolescent issues
Be creative and playful in adapting ACT for young people
Overcome reluctance and negative beliefs about therapy, and engage adolescents in therapy
Who This Course is Suitable For
ACT for Adolescents is open to any professional who works with physical or psychological health. This includes therapists, coaches, counselors, physicians, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, physios, dietitians, occupational therapists, youth workers, BCBAs, speech therapists, and any other type of health professional - as well as students and researchers in these fields.
However, we recommend you have a solid beginners level understanding of ACT. This can include:
Attend an introductory level 2-day ACT workshop (with any ACT trainer; it doesn’t have to be with Russ), or
Complete our online ACT for Beginners course, or
Work through a beginners-level ACT textbook from start to end, such as ACT Made Simple, 2nd edition.
Enrollments
We're happy to help if you can't attend the current intake. Once your purchase is complete, contact our customer service team and we can enrol you in a future intake.
If you need an invoice, please fill out the form here.
What You'll Learn
Course modules
Module one
We begin by exploring a road map for the course and your learning experiences.
Module two
We dive into assessment and building rapport with clients, with therapy demonstrations to guide your learning.
Module three
We tackle winning over reluctant clients in this session, with practical strategies and demonstrations to enrich your learning.
Module four
We explore using the choice point in therapy.
Module five
We explore how mindfulness can be fun with jelly snakes.
Module six
A bonus module packed with some extra resources and therapy demonstrations to enrich your learning.
Module seven
This optional module contains your reading and assignments for the week.
Module eight
Quiz questions
Module one
We begin by acquainting ourselves with our friend, creative hopelessness.
Module two
We explore the gentle art of confronting in this module, with therapy demonstrations by Russ Harris to illustrate.
Module three
This module focuses on dropping the struggle, with helpful metaphors to illustrate.
Module four
We investigate a direct route, with therapy demonstrations to model the key concepts.
Module five
We investigate the caveman mind metaphor in this module.
Module six
Some additional fun mindfulness exercises are explored in this module.
Module seven
A bonus module packed with extra resources and therapy demonstrations to enrich your learning.
Module eight
Some optional reading and assignments tasks for the week are contained in this module.
Module nine
Quiz questions
Module one
We begin week three by investigating function spotting, with therapy demonstrations to illustrate key points.
Module two
This is a bonus module that investigates functional analysis in more depth.
Module three
We tackle anger and aggression, with therapy demonstrations to illustrate key learning concepts.
Module four
This module explores values, with Russ Harris demonstrating key points in session.
Module five
More fun mindfulness approaches are explored in this module.
Module six
We focus on creativity with values in this session.
Module seven
We continue exploring values, investigating extracting and extending values in session.
Module eight
We delve into values and committed action homework to utilize with clients.
Module nine
This module explores committed action and behavorial experiments in session.
Module ten
A bonus module with more mindful activities.
Module eleven
This module contains your optional reading and assignments for the week.
Module twelve
Quiz questions
Module one
We being week four by investigating interlinked processes such as unhooking and anchoring.
Module two
This module demonstrates using 'bubble wrap thoughts' in session.
Module three
This module demonstrates the sushi train metaphor, with some practical scripts to use in session.
Module four
More 'mindfulness can be fun' examples are contained in this module.
Module five
We explore using cardboard tubes in session as a metaphor for flexible attention.
Module six
A highly demonstrative module which illustrates dropping anchor in session.
Module seven
We delve into poetry for defusion, with tips and demonstrations to enrich your learning.
Module eight
A bonus module exploring starting a session with dropping anchor.
Module nine
We investigate using the choice point and defusion in this module.
Module ten
A bonus module packed with optional resources to enrich your learning.
Module eleven
This module contains optional reading and assignments for the week.
Module twelve
Quiz questions
Module one
We begin week five by exploring openness and curiosity.
Module two
This module delves into unhooking from rigid rules.
Module three
A practical module which explores some fun strategies to use in session when delving into struggle verses acceptance.
Module four
Further fun mindfulness activities are explored in this session.
Module five
This module explores reframing negative thoughts and feelings, with therapy demonstrations to guide the learning.
Module six
We explore how to make the self-as-context relevant, clear and practical in this module.
Module seven
Self-compassion is the focus of this highly practical module.
Module eight
We explore reinforcing new behavior, with therapy demonstrations to guide key concepts.
Module nine
We investigate the choice point for opening up in this module.
Module ten
A bonus module packed with extra learning material to enrich your journey.
Module eleven
Optional reading and assignments for the week are contained in this module.
Module twelve
Quiz questions
Module one
We begin week six by exploring client motivation and fostering change.
Module two
We explore reminding clients that life ain't easy, with metaphors demonstrated in session to enrich the learning experience.
Module three
We investigate defusion from reason giving in this module.
Module four
We tackle how to handle setbacks, with demonstrations illustrating key learning areas.
Module five
We go back to basics in this module, reviewing key ideas.
Module six
Some final concluding thoughts and ideas are the focus of this module.
Module seven
A bonus module packed to the brim with therapy demonstrations and resources.
Module eight
Optional reading and assignments are contained in this module.
Module nine
Quiz questions and conclusion
Course excerpts
What People Say About This Course
4.7
786 participant ratings99.4%
Would recommend this course to a colleague.Jacqueline RojoPsychologist - NSW, AustraliaIt is one of the best courses I have done. After doing 2 university degrees, this is far superior in terms of growing my knowledge. The framework really reinforces concepts by providing the theory and the practical in a very user-friendly format, as well as the ability to hear from other therapists. Great sharing and learning. Thank you.
LiannePsychologist - Limburg, NetherlandsThe course gives me many tools and knowledge about practicing ACT parts in an understanding way, in therapy, with adolescents with chronic diseases. I love the video experiences and pick the most important parts of it to put them in our own program for adolescents.
Hannelie L SpiesPsychologist - Ocean View, Bluff, South AfricaThe course is relevant and practical. The presentations is very professional, dynamic , clear and to the point. The course and it's material is unmatched.
Naomi ColemanPsychologist - Hertfordshire, UKI'm enjoying the content, lots of practical ideas and seeing how they play out in therapy sessions. The bitesize chunks makes it easy to concentrate. All course content available to re-watch.
Daniel BerendsPsychologist - Melbourne VIC, AustraliaI know a lot of counselors and youth workers who would benefit from this after doing a more general ACT course. I love the humorous but impactful content.
Gregg ChapmanRegistered Psychologist, Canberra ACT - Canberra ACT, AustraliaGreat course! Lots of terrific material! I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it!
Continuing Education & Professional Development (CE/CME/CPD)
ACT for Adolescents is designed for mental health professionals, health professionals and coaches worldwide. On completion you'll receive an official certificate of completion, which can be submitted to registration bodies for CPD.
This course is accredited for 16 CE/CME credit hours for US licensed professionals:
Psychologists - 16 CE hours, APA - co-sponsored with Amedco, an APA-approved sponsor
Social workers - 16 general CE credits, ASWB ACE
Physicians - 16 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, ACCME
Nurses - 16 contact hours, ANCC
Counselors, MFTs & addiction professionals - 16 hours, accepted by most US state boards via APA and ASWB ACE credit — see the state-by-state list
Approved CE activity with the New York State boards for Psychology, Social Work, Mental Health Counseling, and Marriage & Family Therapy.
View the full learner notification for this course (PDF) - includes complete accreditation statements, state board acceptance lists, learning objectives and faculty disclosures.
How Your Course Works
Frequently asked questionsView all FAQs
This course offers a downloadable Certificate of Completion you can use to show your professional development boards. CE/CME credits are also available for completing this course - please check the learner notification to view the relevant accrediting bodies.
You don't need to be online at a specific time! You can log in and out at a time that suits you and learn at your own pace.
Once your course begins, Russ Harris will be online throughout the week to answer questions, but please allow a couple of days for your questions to be answered. The forum will be open for 3 months, allowing time to delve into the content and ask Russ follow up questions after all content has been released.
No. If you’re a relative newcomer to ACT, it’s wise to do the ACT For Beginners course first, to build your foundational knowledge and develop the core skills. But it’s not absolutely essential.
A number of things. For a start, you’ll see numerous therapy demonstrations, featuring five different expert therapists – so you’ll get to see a wide range of different therapeutic styles. There’s also the fact you’ll learn directly from the world’s foremost ACT trainer, Dr Russ Harris – famous for his fun, engaging, and incredibly practical training approach, that sure to keep you focused, so you can absorb key ideas, and quickly build confidence in applying them.
And you’ll learn how to modify ACT so that it’s effective with adolescents: how to bring in fun and creativity, playfulness and humour, non-technical language, engaging exercises, physical metaphors, and simple skills-building.
Yes, it does. This ACT for Adolescents training will explode your creativity: music, painting, drawing, sculpting, movies, photography, Lego … there are so many playful and engaging ways to do ACT with adolescents. You’ll see interventions involving everything from bubble wrap and paper plates to toilet rolls and jelly snakes!
The course contains many audio and text materials, from recordings of experiential exercises to eBooks on important topics. You can keep all of these materials – and you can freely share all the handouts, worksheets, and audios with your clients. For the video materials, you will have one year of unlimited access.