Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A Skills-Based Training Retreat

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A Skills-Based Training Retreat is a six-day professional training for mental health and behavioral health professionals, held at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is led by clinical psychologists and ACT trainers John Forsyth and Jamie Forsyth, and it offers 22 continuing education credits. No prior familiarity with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is required.

ACT is an evidence-based approach that balances mindfulness and acceptance processes with commitment and behavior change, in the service of a more vital life. This training introduces it both as a model and as an intervention technology, and shows how it applies to a range of problems commonly seen in mental health settings.

What to Expect

The teaching is experiential. Through demonstrations and hands-on exercises, you learn strategies to help clients let go of unhelpful struggles, cultivate peace of mind, nurture self-compassion, and live a rich and meaningful life. You also learn how ACT can be woven into your own practice, and you receive clinical worksheets and other tools you can use right away. The group is small, which allows for personalized guidance and peer learning.

The days follow a steady rhythm. Opening day begins with check-in at 2:00 pm, a Kripalu Yoga class, dinner, and a first program session from 7:30 to 9:00 pm. On each full day, yoga runs from 6:30 to 7:45 am, followed by a silent breakfast. Program sessions meet from 9:00 to 11:30 am and again from 1:30 to 4:00 pm, with lunch between them. An afternoon yoga class and dinner close the day. On the final morning there is yoga, silent breakfast, a program session from 9:00 to 11:00 am, and then lunch and departure. Actual times may vary, and the schedule given at check-in has room locations.

Past participants describe the Forsyths as warm, funny, and generous with personal stories, and as people who embody ACT in how they teach.

About John Forsyth

John Forsyth is a clinical psychologist and an expert ACT trainer. He co-leads this retreat with Jamie Forsyth.

About Jamie Forsyth

Jamie Forsyth is a clinical psychologist and an expert ACT trainer who teaches alongside John Forsyth, pairing demonstration with practice.

The Setting

Kripalu sits in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, near Stockbridge, and the grounds are open to you throughout your stay. Accommodations are intentionally simple, meant to help you unplug and feel grounded. Options include private rooms, shared rooms, and community-style dormitory lodging. Rooms are ready by 4:00 pm, and a luggage room is available if you arrive earlier. Check-out on the last day is at 10:00 am, and you may stay on campus and take part in workshops until 2:00 pm.

Three meals are served daily, breakfast being a silent one, and dietary accommodations are available on request. More than ten yoga classes are offered over the course of the retreat.

Before You Go

This program is designed for licensed and practicing mental health professionals, so a clinical background and licensure are expected. The level is intermediate in that sense, though no prior ACT experience is needed. The training is taught in English.

Tuition covers the training, lodging, three daily meals, yoga classes, access to the grounds, clinical worksheets, and the 22 continuing education credits. Healing Arts sessions and purchases from the Kripalu Shop and Cafe are separate, as is travel to and from Kripalu.