Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (FACT)

Simple, brief and effective in getting clients unstuck

FACT part 1, ZOOM workshop
14 March 2025
9am - 3.30pm

FACT is the primary care version of ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), known as Focussed Acceptance and Commitment therapy.

Inevitably, in talk therapy, the client's solution to their problems becomes part of their problem (through avoidance and escape behaviours).

Prof Bruce Arroll will demonstrate how to take a contextual history in under five minutes using the work/love/ play questionnaire and a single question for low mood. He will show how to do behavioural activation, which is the most effective treatment for low mood, which has been shown to get remission in 46% of primary care patients one week after therapy. He will also demonstrate some powerful interventions which can change behaviour rapidly. ACT is becoming the talk therapy that has rapidly increased in randomised controlled trials with more than 1300 published. Participants will leave the course with skills in these interventions.

FACT is a model of brief therapy that is a highly condensed version of a well-established longer-term treatment called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Strosahl et al 2012) and can work well for people wanting to get 'unstuck'. 

FACT is a model worth considering for clients with anxiety and depression disorders and those clients who struggle with negative thinking and who are prone to ruminating on their difficulties might also be excellent candidates for FACT.

Big Results from Brief Consultations: This version of FACT has been developed primarily for use in primary care settings, however it can be used in any high volume, time limited consultation settings. 

Learning Outcomes - What it provides for clients

This program is based on the principle of accepting what is out of one's personal control while committing to action to enrich their life and make it more meaningful. It aims for individuals to learn to handle painful thoughts and feelings in such a way to have less impact and influence (mindfulness skills), and to clarify what is truly important and meaningful (clarify values). It teaches participants to use this knowledge to guide, inspire and motivate themselves to set goals and take action that enriches their life.

Who Should Attend

This 6 hour workshop is suitable for counsellors, social workers, nurses, clinical psychologists, GP's, case workers, clinicians, and others focused on helping their clients address issues like anxiety, depression, stress and get on with life.

Bruce Arroll will facilitate this workshop using ZOOM. Participants will be able to do exercises in separate (virtual) break out rooms.

All you need is a computer with internet connection. You will be sent the details to access ZOOM, after you have registered.


The FACT workshops are worth 20 points/6 hours CPD

This workshop has also been endorsed by The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) and has been approved for up to 5.25 CME credits for the General Practice Educational Programme (GPEP) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

Testimonials

“I had an appointment today with a lady wanting to stop smoking. I used "the work, love, play worksheet" on her and it was a complete success. Through this worksheet I discovered that her issue wasn’t with the behaviour of smoking, but with all other aspects of her life. She marked low on all aspects and she opened up A LOT! By the end of it she set some tasks for herself and we will review this next week. What took her back was the fact that I was a Stop Smoking coach, but providing “counselling” for her, which she found extremely helpful. Although that wasn’t my intention it was her first time opening up to someone about it.“
Christchurch Attendee

“The FACT workshop was excellent. Presented in an informative way which allowed time for participant interaction and role plays. I particularly liked the work/love/play worksheet and killer narratives. So many new skills learned that I could take away and work with, which is rare for just a one day workshop. Bruce Arroll is an excellent presenter who kept everyone engaged all day. I would highly recommend attending his course and look forward to more of his workshops in the future.”
Jane, Auckland PHO

"I had been to one of Bruce's FACT lectures at the Goodfellow Symposium in Auckland and wanted to learn more about FACT. Bruce is passionate about what he does and very inspiring and this makes the study day particularly enjoyable. There were a few GPs but mostly Clinical Psychologists and counsellors at the study day I attended. It was really useful doing lots of role playing to practice some of the skills we were taught during the day. I sat next to a Clinical Psychologist and learnt a lot from her about how she related to patients which was an added bonus for me. I was able to start using the skills I learnt the next day at my practice and have been using them ever since with good feedback from patients. I highly recommend the study day and would like to do another one!"
Dr Rose Dodd, GP, Wellington 

About the presenter:

Bruce Arroll

Bruce is a Professor of General Practice and Primary Health Care at the University of Auckland New Zealand and was a practising GP in Manurewa in South Auckland for 32 years . He now does regular general practice at the Auckland City Mission (Calder Clinic) and also does special consultations using Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (FACT) for people who are feeling stuck in their lives by stress, pain or low energy. He does this work with his own patients and those referred from his clinic colleagues as well as for people outside of the clinic.

Date & Location:

ZOOM Workshop

Date: 14 March 2025

This workshop is offered via ZOOM and has been designed for everyone to be on their own device so we can use break out rooms (two devices in the same room causes feedback unfortunately).

All you need is a computer with internet connection. You will be sent the details to access ZOOM, 1 week prior to the workshop.

Price & Registration Information

Price: $275 per person including GST

Payment online is by Debit or Credit Card: VISA, Mastercard or American Express only and there are 3 easy steps to complete the online booking process.

Upon hitting the blue "Complete Booking" button, you will receive an automated email confirming your registration and you will also be a sent in a separate email a Tax Invoice showing your booking as being paid in full by Credit Card.
This will appear on your statement as from LIL REGIE LTD WELLINGTON, our NZ based booking agent.  

If you have any issues or questions about your booking, please contact Nathalie van Dort: nathalie@grow.co.nz or ph: 021 066 9811

Can't pay online and require an invoice?

We work hard to ensure that all workshops are cost effective by automating our systems. If your organisation requires an invoice (rather than paying by debit or credit card) there will be a $25.00 inc GST surcharge for this, and you will need to supply:

  • The full name and postal address required to appear on the invoice.

  • The contact name and email of the person(s) responsible for authorising this expense and approving payment.

  • Any purchase order references required on vendor invoices.

Please email nathalie@grow.co.nz  if you would like to reserve a place, as our workshops fill quickly.

What happens if you have to cancel?

We know that sometimes your plans can change for many different reasons. Should you be unable to attend, a substitute delegate is welcome to attend at no extra cost. If a substitute delegate is not available and you need to cancel your registration, please be aware of the following:

Up to 7 days prior to the event you will be provided a refund of your registration cost, less a $20.00 inc GST per attendee service charge.
 
If you cancel within 7 days of the event, you are not eligible to receive a refund. Please note: should your registration not be paid by the time of the event, you are still liable to make the payment. Unpaid accounts may be passed over to our debt collection agency and additional costs may be incurred.
 
All cancellations must be received in writing via email.
 
Training is cancellable by GROW with 7 days’ notice if a minimum number of attendees is not met and full refunds will be provided.
 
Please note: GROW Ltd reserves the right to make any amendments that we may deem to be in the best interest of the workshop – it is however very unlikely and we will notify you as soon as possible should this occur.

For more information see our full Terms of Trade.

Further Details

Pre-Event Reference Material

In line with our sustainability objectives, you will be emailed the workshop materials in advance. You may wish to print these for your own convenience. 


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CONTACT NATHALIE


For further details, please contact:
e: nathalie@grow.co.nz
p: 021 066 9811