ACT as a Brief Intervention
Learn to do ACT briefly but effectively, in time-limited settings, with the evidence-based model of FACT: Focused Acceptance & Commitment Therapy.
About the course
4.6
Start date
Starts 13 October 2026Length
6 weeks | 8 hrs total (12 months access)Who this course is for
For Mental Health & Health Professionals, CoachesOrganization Enquiries
Find out moreAre you facing the challenge of optimising client outcomes with as few treatment sessions as possible? Practitioners often struggle when limited to just a few sessions, or short sessions of 20-30 minutes. That’s where FACT (Focused Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) comes in handy. It’s an evidence-based adaptation of ACT, designed to be effective in a brief intervention format, that’s now widely used in the USA, Europe and New Zealand.
In this training, you’ll learn how to do ACT in as few as 1 to 6 sessions – even in sessions as short as 20 to 30 minutes. You’ll learn to streamline your existing ACT interventions, and also use new techniques, to work briefly but effectively with common clinical issues, including depression, anxiety, addiction, grief, hopelessness, self-criticism, chronic illness, stress, and more.
What You Will Learn
This six-week immersive course builds on foundational ACT training. It gives you focused tools and strategies for working confidently in any type of brief intervention setting.
You will learn how to:
Use FACT as brief intervention for depression, anxiety disorders, addictions, stress, grief, medical problems and a wide range of other common issues.
Do an effective ACT intervention in as little as 5 to 10 minutes
Do rapid case formulation and treatment targeting
Introduce and actively practice with any core ACT process - defusion, acceptance, values, committed action, flexible attention, self-as-context – in less than 15 minutes
You will also:
Discover exciting new research about the surprisingly high effectiveness of brief therapy interventions
Learn the art of focused interviewing skills
Observe many clinical demonstrations of the specialised techniques and strategies at the core of FACT
$450
Starts 13 October
ACT as a Brief InterventionEnroll now
$450
Enroll Now!
Course starts October 13Learn FACT 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.
Why Is It Useful To Master Brief Interventions?
In time-limited settings, it’s obviously essential to have as much clinical impact as possible in a short space of time. But even in standard therapy settings, insurance rebates are reducing, the cost of living is rising, therapy is increasingly unaffordable, so clients, more than ever before, are unwilling to have long term therapy. Therefore any health practitioner can benefit from learning how to have more impact in less time.
This course gives you a solid but flexible structure, and a wealth of practical tools, so you can compassionately guide your clients through life-enhancing change in a short space of time.
A Unique, Engaging Learning Experience
Your six-week learning journey will include:
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, that clearly show you how to put FACT into practice with a wide range of common issues, from depression and anxiety to addiction and chronic illness
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 to keep!
Who Will Benefit From This Training?
This 6-week interactive training is ideal for practitioners who want to:
Strengthen and streamline their ACT skills, so they can work more efficiently
Use brief, practical strategies to rapidly foster cognitive flexibility, emotional flexibility, and behavioural flexibility
Quickly build clients’ skills in self-compassion, values-based problem-solving, ‘quick’n’simple defusion’, ‘mindfulness-on-the go’, and ‘rapid acceptance’
Do ACT in time-limited settings such as primary care, short in-patient stays, school or university counselling, prisons, EAPs, and crisis intervention services
Who This Course is For
ACT for Brief Interventions 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 trainer).
Complete our online ACT for Beginners course.
Work through a beginners-level ACT textbook, such as ACT Made Simple or Learning ACT.
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.
Course Overview
Course Modules
Module one
We begin by introducing the course and different ways of approaching your learning.
Module two
We introduce FACT in this module, tackling both what it is and isn't.
Module three
This module focuses on building rapport and establishing a contract with your clients.
Module four
A practical module that delves into work, love, health and play in your clients' lives and how to approach in session.
Module five
This module looks at the main problem and 'The three Ts.'
Module six
We delve into focusing questions and how to use in brief sessions.
Module seven
This bonus module is packed with extra therapy demonstrations and research.
Module eight
Quiz questions
Module one
We begin week two by exploring a new direction for therapy sessions.
Module two
This module focuses on reframing, giving practical examples and analogies to explain the concept.
Module three
We look at the choice point in this module, with demonstrations and examples.
Module four
This module focuses on active intervention, giving practical tips and tricks to help your clients.
Module five
We delve into the nuts and bolts of brief interventions - how to set up a session.
Module six
This bonus module is packed with extra resources for further enrichment.
Module seven
Quiz questions
Module one
We tackle homework in this first module of week three, and how to handle in brief sessions.
Module two
This module investigates the power of rating the helpfulness of a session, with practical demonstrations to illustrate.
Module three
We look at assessment tools, records and handouts you can use in session to help your clients.
Module four
We tackle how to work with difficult behavior in session, with practical demonstrations to illustrate.
Module five
We continue and explore what to do when a client can't decide which problem to focus on.
Module six
This optional content focuses on adaptions for Doctors.
Module seven
A highly practical module with demonstrates brief interventions for anxiety.
Module eight
This bonus module is packed full of additional resources and research.
Module nine
Quiz questions
Module one
We begin by reflecting on our own barriers to FACT as clinicians.
Module two
A highly demonstrative module which illustrates brief defusion.
Module three
We focus on brief acceptance, with demonstrations and examples to guide the learning experience.
Module four
We look at building on foundations you've laid in previous client sessions, and learn what to focus on in subsequent sessions.
Module five
This bonus module is packed with extra research.
Module six
Quiz questions
Module one
We tackle homework horrors in this first module of the week.
Module two
Effective strategies to use in challenging sessions are demonstrated in this module.
Module three
We continue focusing on challenging sessions, looking at values and committed action.
Module four
We explore acceptance and urge-surfing in the context of challenging sessions.
Module five
A bonus module packed with further research and teaching.
Module six
Quiz questions
Module one
We look at how to be flexible in a session, learning that you don't have to stick to the script.
Module two
This module contains further demonstrations and examples to enrich your learning and aid flexibility in session.
Module three
This bonus module is packed with extra resources to enrich your learning experience.
Module four
Quiz questions and conclusion
Course Excerpts
What People Say About This Course
4.6
1,265 participant ratings98.4%
Would recommend this course to a colleague.Angela McCaffertyPsychotherapist - Renfrewshire, Scotland, UKI'd recommend ACT to every therapist to learn and use. I'd recommend Russ and the Psychwire course because the content and variation of techniques used, are sure to suit most if not all learners.
Rodrigo JarpaPsychologist - ChileThis is one of the highest quality online courses I have taken (I have taken a lot...). The lectures were clear, well paced and very engaging.
Dr. Jess McCloskeyPsychologist - Ware, Hertfordshire, UKI feel like I have developed a deeper understanding of ACT in general and specifically on how to apply it in a more focused way, right from the first week.
Julia TwynholmPsychologist - UKLots of case examples and chances to observe skills being used and practical tools to use. I like watching FACT in action and tools to apply it.
Matt TaylorPsychologist - New Orleans, LA, USAThis course has helped me to make practical, effective changes in my practice and made me a better clinician. It's exactly what I was looking for. I enjoy getting to watch the sessions to see the different interventions used in a primary care setting.
Alison MaitlandPsychologist - Oxford, UKFun, informative, engaging, practical. Learning how to do ACT in a focused way - useful in my role as a sports psych when I often have little time with a player.
Continuing Education & Professional Development (CE/CME/CPD)
ACT as a Brief Intervention 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 8 CE/CME credit hours for US licensed professionals:
Psychologists - 8 CE hours, APA - co-sponsored with Amedco, an APA-approved sponsor
Social workers - 8 general CE credits, ASWB ACE
Physicians - 8 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, ACCME
Nurses - 8 contact hours, ANCC
Counselors, MFTs & addiction professionals - 8 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
Yes – there’s a wealth of published research on ACT as a brief intervention, showing it’s not only effective, but has long lasting results.
This course will show you how to crunch the ACT model into short but powerful interventions, ideal for any setting where there’s limited time.
You’ll learn how to get ACT concepts across quickly and succinctly, in plain simple language, and move into active therapy without any fuss.
You’ll gain a clear framework for productive sessions of only 20-30 minutes duration.
And you’ll learn to introduce and work with any core ACT process within a 5-10 minute window.
Plus so much more!
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.
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.
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.