ACT for Beginners
Join Dr Russ Harris in this absorbing six-week course, and learn how to help your clients reduce suffering and build meaningful lives with Acceptance & Commitment Therapy.
About the course
Start date
Starts 18 August 2026Length
6 weeks | 16hrs total (12 months access)Who this course is for
For Mental Health & Health Professionals, CoachesOrganization Enquiries
Find out moreDo you ever feel frustrated, stuck, or overwhelmed, trying to support your clients in the face of their problems and suffering? Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) offers a creative, compassionate, mindfulness-based approach, to help your clients break free from their struggles, be kinder to themselves, and move forwards with their lives, guided by core values.
Join world-renowned ACT trainer Russ Harris as he brings Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to life in this interactive, online course. Russ will guide you step-by-step through the ACT model with humour and clarity, turning complex ideas into practical skills you can use in session.
$690
Starts 18 August
ACT for BeginnersEnroll now
$690
Late enrollments
Learn ACT with Dr Russ Harris
Dr Russ Harris, the world’s most popular ACT trainer, makes ACT simple: easy to understand, straightforward to apply, in a format that's fun, engaging and inspiring.
Russ is the author of ACT Made Simple, the world’s best-selling textbook on the ACT model. A physician, psychotherapist, and world-leading authority on ACT, Russ is also a consultant to the World Health Organization. Although he’s written numerous books on ACT, the best known is The Happiness Trap, which has sold over 1.5 million copies.
Feel Supported as You Build Practical ACT Skills
Russ’s intensely practical program gives you complete flexibility to learn the art of ACT, whenever it suits you. You can zip through the whole training in just six weeks - or go more slowly, learn in depth, and let it sink in over months.
The course also includes a whole warehouse of powerful resources you simply won’t find anywhere else:
beautifully crafted video lessons,
humorous animations,
dynamic therapy sessions,
inspiring audio recordings,
uplifting eBooks,
and a stack of useful client handouts.
And you can ask questions, share experiences, and obtain feedback and support directly from Russ Harris, via our interactive forum.
Learn Simple, Effective ACT Approaches
This entire course has been carefully designed with our professional learners in mind, to ensure that you gain a comprehensive and practical grounding in the theory of ACT, which you can immediately put into practice with your clients or patients. You’ll learn how to:
Build authentic, compassionate, supportive therapeutic relationships
Interrupt and undermine rumination, worrying and obsessing
Foster a deep, genuine connection with values, for motivation, inspiration, and fulfilment
Shift from self-judgment to self-compassion (even when clients claim they ‘don’t deserve it’)
Take the power out of difficult thoughts, beliefs, rules, and judgments - without ever needing to challenge or dispute them
Take the power out of difficult feelings, emotions, urges and memories – without any attempt to escape, avoid, distract, or suppress.
Set clients free from inertia, indecision and hopelessness
Teach the art of ‘mindfulness on the go’: easy-to-do practices to focus and engage without meditation
Enable clients to access a transcendent sense of self
Dissolve procrastination and overcome barriers to change
Apply ACT effectively with a wide variety of clinical problems
‘Dance’ flexibly between core ACT processes in session, creatively adapting them as you go
Apply ACT to yourself, on your own stresses and struggles, to prevent burnout and make your work fulfilling. This not only gives you confidence in the model, but also authenticity with your clients!
Course Format & Suitability
For the first six weeks of course access, you’ll get 2-3 hours of new content each week (sixteen hours in total). And for the first twelve weeks, you can directly interact with Russ, via the forum - asking questions, sharing breakthroughs, getting feedback and support.
This course is suitable for therapists, counsellors, doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, coaches, and any other health professional. You can do it at any point in your career, whether you’re just starting out or highly experienced. You’ll learn the basics of ACT, in a fluid and flexible way, so you can use it as a stand-alone model, or combine it with other models you’ve trained in.
If you're new to ACT, explore our free expert insight, What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)?, where Dr Russ Harris explains the fundamentals of the approach.
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 Goals
- Get versatile with values and dance around with defusion
- Discover five powerful tools to develop and strengthen psychological acceptance
- Create focus, flexibility and fulfilment through contacting the present moment
- Empower through acceptance and liberate through self-as-context
- Ten powerful ways to rapidly reduce the believability of negative thoughts (without ever challenging them)
- Seven surefire techniques to get to values
- Learn the art of mindfulness without meditation and how to innovate your own mindfulness techniques
Course modules
Week 1: Opening ACT: What's it all about
Module one
We begin by introducing how this course works and what you can expect.
Module two
This module gives some vital contextual & background information on ACT.
Module three
We explore why it's hard to be happy, looking at the inevitability of pain and the challenges of caring.
Module four
We dive into the ACT 'Hexaflex' and 'Triflex'.
Module five
This module explores the core pathological processes in ACT, or what we like to call the 'Anti-Hexaflex'.
Module six
We investigate the 'choice point,' exploring key point & examples to guide your clients.
Module seven
This module focuses on the therapeutic relationship and its vital role as an ACT therapist.
Module eight
This practical module gives tips and tricks when setting up a session.
Module nine
This highly demonstrative module focuses on how to take a history in a session.
Module ten
We delve into establishing behavorial goals with your clients.
Module eleven
This module focuses on mindfulness and contacting the present moment.
Module twelve
This bonus module includes further therapy demonstrations and useful research.
Module thirteen
This highly practical module includes some reading & homework tasks to apply in your week with your clients.
Module fourteen
Quiz questions & conclusion
Week 2: Drop the struggle
Module one
We begin this week by exploring the concept 'I just want to be happy' and how we can guide our clients through this thought process.
Module two
We continue and delve into psycho-education about control, and investigate what's in our control.
Module three
This module focuses on the theory behind 'creative hopelessness.'
Module four
A practical module which demonstrates dealing with creative hopelessness in session.
Module five
We explore 'dropping the struggle' in this module.
Module six
This highly practical module delves into dropping anchor, giving practical exercises and demonstrations of this technique.
Module seven
Some practical tips and tricks when giving homework to clients.
Module eight
This module explores therapy sessions when things go wrong, covering ways to manage these difficult sessions.
Module nine
Some bonus content for you including more therapy demonstrations and exercises.
Module ten
This module contains exercises to try throughout the week on your own and with your clients.
Module eleven
Quiz questions and conclusion
Week 3: Watch your thinking
Module one
We begin week 3 by looking at cognitive fusion and defusion.
Module two
This module delves into the first steps of defusion.
Module three
We continue to look at defusion, going further with how to guide clients through this process.
Module four
This module tackles the concept of creative hopelessness with thoughts.
Module five
We explore some practical ideas to deal with clients who argue 'but it's true!'
Module six
This module explores playful defusion, with practical demonstrations and theory to ground your understanding.
Module seven
We consolidate our understanding of common defusion techniques in this module.
Module eight
This module explores mediative defusion, giving practical tips to set up the exercises.
Module nine
This module covers setting homework tasks for clients around defusion.
Module ten
A bonus module for you packed with exercises, more tips and tricks.
Module eleven
Weekly tasks and challenges to tackle during the week with your clients.
Module twelve
Quiz questions and week conclusion
Week 4: Take a stand
Module one
This week begins by introducing values.
Module two
We dive into the difference between goals and values.
Module three
Self-practice is the focus of this module where we explore our own values
Module four
We look at how to elicit values from our clients.
Module five
This module gives keys and ideas for values homework.
Module six
Highly practical demonstrations are featured as we learn by example in this module.
Module seven
We investigate what committed action is in this module.
Module eight
This module covers overcoming barriers in both ourselves and with our clients.
Module nine
The focus of this module is dealing with challenging situations and includes practical tips to guide.
Module ten
We dive into the nuts and bolts of goal-setting.
Module eleven
This bonus module includes therapy demonstrations and more insights on values.
Module twelve
This module has assignments and further readings for the week.
Module thirteen
Quiz questions and conclusion
Week 5: Hold yourself kindly
Module one
We begin this week by looking at acceptance and avoidance.
Module two
This module explores dropping anchor, defusion and acceptance.
Module three
Handy tips and tricks when getting your clients started on their journey of acceptance.
Module four
We delve into further acceptance metaphors and techniques to help guide your clients.
Module five
We focus on self-compassion in this module, looking at the building blocks of this practice.
Module six
Some homework tips and tricks in this module.
Module seven
This module explores keys for staying on track and re-directing focus.
Module eight
We look at linking values to pain to foster acceptance.
Module nine
A bonus module filled with tips and tricks to use with your clients.
Module ten
Further assignments and readings to enrich your learning.
Module eleven
Quiz questions and conclusion
Week 6: Bringing it all together
Module one
We begin this week by exploring what is the self-as-context.
Module two
We delve deeper into the self-as-context, and how to make this explicit with clients.
Module three
We continue and explore self-as-context metaphors
Module four
We dive into the conceptualised self and the function of self-concept.
Module five
We build on our understanding with self-as-context exercises.
Module six
A practical module with demonstrations of self-as-context interventions.
Module seven
We delve into client confusion with practical tips and tricks to help guide clients in session.
Module eight
We focus on mindful savoring and appreciating.
Module nine
This module delves into using ACT flexibly.
Module ten
We take a pause and focus on therapist self-care.
Module eleven
We bring it all together in this conclusion.
Module twelve
Further readings, assignments and important messages to enrich your learning.
Module thirteen
A bonus module packed with enriching content and therapy demonstrations.
Module fourteen
Quiz questions and finishing comments.
Course excerpts
What People Say About This Course
Ian Guyah-LowPsychologist - Toddington, United KingdomIt is broken down really well to understand each element in easily manageable chunks so you can really see how the model comes together and how to apply it in your day to day practice. This is a skill Russ has to really make things laser-focused in an easily digestible way.
Kimberly MathisMarriage & Family Therapy - Chattanooga, TN, USARuss presents material in a way that is easy to understand, and thus easily-translatable to clients. His style of teaching is simple, down-to-earth, light-hearted, encouraging, and most of all, relevant to everyday work with clients. This has been a wonderful training that has dramatically improved my clinical skills.
Dr Carly Malcolm Counselling Psychologist - Scotland, UKFun, engaging, and a breath of fresh air. The structure of the course and notion of 'dancing around the hex flex' really allowed me to be flexible whilst feeling grounded as I learned this new model!
Pete SteelePsychologist - Melbourne VIC, AustraliaThe demonstrations of the ACT concepts makes learning the material much easier. Also great to be able to repeatedly watch videos of trickier concepts or rewatch to troubleshoot after practicing with a client and having it go awry.
Mia PellizzerPsychologist - Adelaide South Australia, AustraliaGreat practical examples that I have already been using with my clients. Excellent resource library that I have been using regularly too. Russ presents the course in a very engaging and interesting way that I enjoy.
Dr. Joseph DohertyLicensed psychologist - Braintree, Massachusetts, USAI found this course to be extremely well done in terms of how the material was presented and explained. It was very professional and, once I feel I have mastered what I am learning I will definitely be interested in other course offerings.
Continuing Education & Professional Development (CE/CME/CPD)
ACT for Beginners 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.
