About This Event
This Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) workshop is designed for BCBAs working with adults with disabilities, including autistic adults, and centers on using ACT to elevate client voice, dignity, and values within behavior-analytic practice. ACT aims to enhance psychological flexibility so that individuals are better able to engage in actions that align with chosen values amidst the wave of emotions and thoughts of life. Attendees will be introduced to the six core processes of ACT that enhance psychological flexibility through a neuroaffirming lens. This workshop will also deepen participants’ own understanding of experiential avoidance, with particular attention to how attempts to reduce or escape one’s own internal experiences (e.g., anxiety, frustration, uncertainty) can unintentionally limit client autonomy, skill generalization, and quality of life.
Through case examples, experiential exercises, and guided discussion, attendees will explore how ACT shifts intervention goals from symptom reduction alone to supporting values-based living as defined by the client. Emphasis will be placed on practical integration while maintaining alignment with behavior-analytic principles. By the end of the workshop, BCBAs will leave with concrete tools for embedding ACT into adult services in ways that honor client choice, amplify self-advocacy, and strengthen collaborative, compassionate care.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe/define the 6 components of the ACT Hexaflex
- Enhance your own self-awareness by identifying experiential avoidance in your own practice
- Integrate one ACT intervention into the program or conversation of a current case
Alison Beauvais Carris, BCBA, LCPC
About Our Guest Speaker:
Alison Beauvais Carris, Founder of Behavioral Learning, BCBA, LCPC. Ali is a passionate wife, partner, voracious reader, karaoke junkie, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, with two humans who call her mom. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Chicago to pursue her love of theatre and accidentally fell into the world of behavior analysis. Ali earned a Master of Arts degree in 2011 in Clinical Psychology with specializations in both Applied Behavior Analysis and Counseling. Since then, she has developed extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and adults within our neurodiverse community. With a foundation in Contextual Behavior Science, Ali began Behavioral Learning in 2020, a clinical behavior analytic organization focused on supporting individuals, families, and supervisees develop psychological flexibility and ultimately live a life they value. Professionally, Ali’s experience over the past 15+ years is expansive, as a graduate-level instructor, community mental health provider, school therapist, behavior health clinician, supervisor, and counselor. She is a dynamic speaker with a resume of professional speaking engagements at various organizations such as Black Applied Behavior Analysts, Illinois Counseling Association, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and others. Ali has most recently served as a Board Member of the Illinois Association for Behavior Analysis as Communications Coordinator and is a reviewer for the professional journal, Behavior Analysis in Practice. Ali is an empathic provider who seeks to bridge the gap between mental and behavioral health through compassionate care.
Let’s Connect!
https://www.facebook.com/clinicalaba
https://www.linkedin.com/company/behavioral-learning-llc
About This Event
This Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) workshop is designed for BCBAs working with adults with disabilities, including autistic adults, and centers on using ACT to elevate client voice, dignity, and values within behavior-analytic practice. ACT aims to enhance psychological flexibility so that individuals are better able to engage in actions that align with chosen values amidst the wave of emotions and thoughts of life. Attendees will be introduced to the six core processes of ACT that enhance psychological flexibility through a neuroaffirming lens. This workshop will also deepen participants’ own understanding of experiential avoidance, with particular attention to how attempts to reduce or escape one’s own internal experiences (e.g., anxiety, frustration, uncertainty) can unintentionally limit client autonomy, skill generalization, and quality of life.
Through case examples, experiential exercises, and guided discussion, attendees will explore how ACT shifts intervention goals from symptom reduction alone to supporting values-based living as defined by the client. Emphasis will be placed on practical integration while maintaining alignment with behavior-analytic principles. By the end of the workshop, BCBAs will leave with concrete tools for embedding ACT into adult services in ways that honor client choice, amplify self-advocacy, and strengthen collaborative, compassionate care.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe/define the 6 components of the ACT Hexaflex
- Enhance your own self-awareness by identifying experiential avoidance in your own practice
- Integrate one ACT intervention into the program or conversation of a current case
Alison Beauvais Carris, BCBA, LCPC
About Our Guest Speaker:
Alison Beauvais Carris, Founder of Behavioral Learning, BCBA, LCPC. Ali is a passionate wife, partner, voracious reader, karaoke junkie, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, with two humans who call her mom. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Chicago to pursue her love of theatre and accidentally fell into the world of behavior analysis. Ali earned a Master of Arts degree in 2011 in Clinical Psychology with specializations in both Applied Behavior Analysis and Counseling. Since then, she has developed extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and adults within our neurodiverse community. With a foundation in Contextual Behavior Science, Ali began Behavioral Learning in 2020, a clinical behavior analytic organization focused on supporting individuals, families, and supervisees develop psychological flexibility and ultimately live a life they value. Professionally, Ali’s experience over the past 15+ years is expansive, as a graduate-level instructor, community mental health provider, school therapist, behavior health clinician, supervisor, and counselor. She is a dynamic speaker with a resume of professional speaking engagements at various organizations such as Black Applied Behavior Analysts, Illinois Counseling Association, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and others. Ali has most recently served as a Board Member of the Illinois Association for Behavior Analysis as Communications Coordinator and is a reviewer for the professional journal, Behavior Analysis in Practice. Ali is an empathic provider who seeks to bridge the gap between mental and behavioral health through compassionate care.
Let’s Connect!
https://www.facebook.com/clinicalaba
https://www.linkedin.com/company/behavioral-learning-llc