Introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) offers a different way to understand human behavior and help people make meaningful changes in their lives.

Rather than focusing primarily on changing or eliminating difficult thoughts and feelings, ACT helps people develop psychological flexibility—the ability to notice their experiences and respond in ways that move them toward what matters.

In this six-hour introductory course, Dr. Kevin Polk and Phil Tenaglia introduce ACT through the ACT Matrix, a simple visual and conversation-based process that makes ACT accessible and practical.

Whether you’re new to ACT or want a fresh way to understand and apply it, this course lets you experience the approach for yourself.

A Simple Way to Learn ACT

ACT is grounded in a substantial body of research and theory. Our course offers a simple process to apply it, and you don’t have to start by mastering complicated concepts or techniques.

The ACT Matrix delivers a straightforward way to notice and organize experiences around a few useful distinctions:

• Who and what is important to us.

• The difficult thoughts, feelings, and sensations that show up along the way.

• How we tend to avoid or escape unwanted thoughts, feelings, and sensations.

• How we act to engage with the people and activities that matter to us.

By noticing these patterns, we can respond to life's challenges more flexibly and effectively.

What You’ll Learn

During this introductory course, you’ll explore:

• The foundations of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, including functional contextualism and Relational Frame Theory.

• How noticing and shifting patterns of avoidance and engagement can promote psychological flexibility and support meaningful behavior change.

• The ACT Matrix as a practical structure for understanding behavior in context

• How ACT and the Matrix support conversations about workability and create opportunities for behavioral change.

The course highlights understanding ACT through experience, not simply memorizing concepts.

Bonus Workbook

A downloadable workbook outlines the process for presenting the Matrix and sparking collaborative conversations, with sample diagrams.

Experience the ACT Matrix

One of the simplest ways to understand the Matrix is to experience it.

During the course, you’ll be introduced to the Matrix diagram and the interactive process of noticing and sorting experiences.

You’ll explore questions such as:

Who and what is important to you?

What difficult inner experiences show up?

What do you do to get relief from those experiences?

What do you do that moves you toward what matters?

These questions can help people notice themselves nonjudgmentally without pressure to change.

The same process becomes a powerful foundation for conversations with clients.

Meet Your Instructors

Kevin Polk is a licensed clinical psychologist, developer of the ACT Matrix, and founder of The ACT Matrix Academy. An internationally recognized trainer, consultant, and author, he specializes in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), psychological flexibility, Functional Contextualism, and Relational Frame Theory. Dr. Polk has worked with clinicians, educators, coaches, leaders, and organizations worldwide to apply the ACT Matrix across a wide range of settings. He is co-editor of The ACT Matrix: A New Approach to Building Psychological Flexibility Across Settings and Populations and co-author of The Essential Guide to the ACT Matrix: A Step-by-Step Approach to Using the ACT Matrix Model in Clinical Practice.

Phil Tenaglia, M.A.

Phil Tenaglia is a licensed psychologist, school psychologist, and ACT Matrix trainer with more than four decades of experience in clinical practice, consultation, crisis intervention, and education. His work focuses on psychological flexibility, noticing, and helping individuals and groups discover what works.

Together, Kevin and Phil bring extensive experience teaching ACT and the Matrix to mental health professionals and other helping professionals.

Course Information

Format: Self-paced, on-demand online training

Continuing Education: 6 CE credits

Price: $119

Instructors: Dr. Kevin Polk and Phil Tenaglia, M.A.

Provider: The ACT Matrix Academy

Ready to Explore ACT?

You don’t need to become an ACT expert before beginning to use its principles.

This course delivers a practical introduction to ACT and the Matrix, with opportunities to experience psychological flexibility and consider how it might inform your work with clients.

Learn at your own pace, earn six continuing education credits, and discover a simple way to begin exploring ACT in practice.