 Dr Robyn Walser is considered to be one of the leading practitioners and
trainers in this area.
Robyn is an internationally
recognised clinician, researcher, writer and trainer of ACT and has facilitated ACT workshops in Australia
in 2003 and 2005, 2006, 2007 and is known for her compassionate sensitive style. She also conducts workshops in the United States and was an organiser and workshop presenter
at the 2005 ACT Summer Institute at La Salle University Philadelphia.
Her 2006 4-day workshop held in Sydney and sponsored by ACTAUS was for
beginners and advanced practitioners and all days were well attended and clinicians were treated to a typical compassionate
Robyn Walser style workshop. A range of practitioners attended, some for whom it was their first exposure to ACT, and
some who had attended her workshops before and were keen to do it again. Most of the group remained for the advanced 2-days. We were pleased to see some familiar faces amongst those who attended. Among the participants
were clinicians from Newcastle, Wollongong, Geelong,
Brisbane and other country NSW areas.
The experiential exercises have an incredible impact on the group. One
of the highlights of the advanced days was each clinician/ participant being willing to take a brave bold move in their lives
and acting on it before the closing of the workshop. Although some of us had done this before, the impact was still evident.
The open, honest commitment was challenging for us all and we willingly experienced being uncomfortable about “showing
up” in front of our colleagues.
The other highlight for the group, was being able to experience Robyn
Walser’s compassionate demonstration of ACT therapy live with three very brave volunteer clients who put themselves
out there in front of a large group of clinicians. Witnessing these live demonstrations gave the group valuable insight into
the ACT process and the importance of the context for different clients.
About Robyn and her style:
“Robyn Walser
is one of the most passionate, creative, and bold ACT
trainers and therapists
on the planet. If you want a warm, challenging
ACT training experience
you could do not better than to take one of
Robyn's ACT workshops.
A clinician's clinician, Robyn has the experience, vision, and values of a person to deeply connected
to this work for many years. She gets it, and she will make sure you do too.” (Steve Hayes)
Other comments about
Robyn’s workshops:
“The workshop was a
brilliant experience both personally and professionally. I look forward to helping
share some of what I experienced with clients through the presented techniques and philosophy”
Resources and Materials on ACT and PTSD
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Walser, R., & Westrup, D. (2007). Acceptance & Commitment Therapy for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder & Trauma-Related Problems: A Practitioner's
Guide to Using Mindfulness & Acceptance Strategies. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger
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Orsillo S.
M., Batten, S. V. (2005). Acceptance and commitment therapy in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. Behavior Modification,
29, 95-129. Discussion article and case study showing how to apply ACT to the treatment of PTSD.
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Batten, S. V. & Hayes, S. C. (2005). Acceptance and Commitment
Therapy in the treatment of comorbid substance abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder: A case study. Clinical Case Studies,
4(3), 246-262.Case study. Shows improvement with a dually diagnosed patient
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Tull, M. T., Gratz, K. L., Salters, K., & Roemer, L. (2004). The role of experiential avoidance in posttraumatic
stress symptoms and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and somatization. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 192(11), 754-761.
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Plumb,
J. C., Orsillo, S. M., & Luterek, J. A. (2004). A preliminary test of the role of experiential avoidance in post-event
functioning. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 35, 245-257.
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Marx, B.P. & Sloan, D.M. (2005). Experiential avoidance,
peritraumatic dissociation, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Behaviour Research
and Therapy, 43, 569-583. 185
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