Contextual Consulting

Contextual Consulting We provide expert training, supervision and therapy in Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Struggling with sleep often becomes a vicious cycle with fear of sleeplessness and pressure to sleep fuelling behaviours...
11/11/2025

Struggling with sleep often becomes a vicious cycle with fear of sleeplessness and pressure to sleep fuelling behaviours that worsen insomnia. Add to this a storm of racing thoughts and contradictory advice, and it’s no wonder so many feel stuck.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) helps tackle sleeplessness by teaching client’s mindfulness strategies and thought defusion techniques to address racing minds and decrease pressure to sleep. It encourages value-based actions and present-moment awareness, breaking cycles of hyperarousal and unhelpful behaviours that perpetuate insomnia. Download our 3 step strategy here: https://buff.ly/pdhtOhc

Our upcoming workshop, hosted by Dr Maja Schaedel, looks at supporting clients to break the cycle of insomnia by addressing the cognitive traps and emotional stressors that are sabotaging their sleep. Learn more and sign up here: https://buff.ly/Ea5ND1Z

It’s important to note that while ACT can be beneficial for managing sleep problems, if you are suffering, it’s always advisable to consult with a qualified mental health professional who can tailor therapy to your specific needs and circumstances. They can provide guidance and support throughout the process too.

10/11/2025

More positive research showing the benefits of ACT! 🙌 This systematic review explores the application of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to the early stages of psychosis (EP), a critical period for intervention. The review identified eight studies, including five randomised controlled trials (RCTs), and evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of ACT-based interventions for EP. The findings suggest that ACT holds promise for improving psychotic symptoms, treatment adherence, and psychosocial functioning, especially when delivered through innovative formats such as group, online, or hybrid interventions. https://buff.ly/u4un7SY

Eric Morris held an ACT for psychosis foundations course last week which is now available to purchase on-demand and for a more comprehensive insight into ACT for psychosis you can sign up to his Masterclass, taking place this week online. Sign up here: https://buff.ly/BCPu1Hj

Our on-demand library has over 170 hours of ACT training ready to go - explore how acceptance and commitment therapy wor...
08/11/2025

Our on-demand library has over 170 hours of ACT training ready to go - explore how acceptance and commitment therapy works across a variety of issues and scenarios including:
- Sport
- Perinatal mental health
- Coaching
- Physical health problems and chronic pain
- Chairwork
- Grief
- Using metaphors in psychotherapy
- RFT/CFT/Functional analysis
and more!

Access to all training is for 6 months after registration and includes course materials plus CE credits. Sign up today and get started! https://buff.ly/W7fodDT

😴 This study explores the mechanisms of change in a six-week online acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention...
07/11/2025

😴 This study explores the mechanisms of change in a six-week online acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention for adults experiencing both subclinical and clinical insomnia. It specifically investigates how changes in psychological processes and symptoms, such as thought suppression, mindfulness, and depressive symptoms, mediate the intervention’s effects on subjective sleep complaints. The findings indicate that reductions in thought suppression and depressive symptoms contributed to improved sleep complaints.

View the study in full on our resource hub and if this is something you're interested in learning more about then sign up for ACT for insomnia & sleep difficulties with Dr Maja Schaedel. This course is live online on 19th and 20th November but everyone who signs up will also get access for 6 months after the live session!

Mechanisms of change in an online ACT intervention for insomnia: https://buff.ly/M4xikKg
ACT for insomnia & sleep difficulties: https://buff.ly/Ea5ND1Z

Cat Burns - our favourite traitor but also a fantastic representative for neurodivergence🌈. We've particularly loved lis...
06/11/2025

Cat Burns - our favourite traitor but also a fantastic representative for neurodivergence🌈. We've particularly loved listening to her new album this week with songs about love, grief and the title track "How to be human" - these lyrics captured our attention as we think they perfectly explain an experience of "masking".

We will explore this concept in more detail in our neurodivergence series taking place next year. The series includes three sessions:
- Alleviating chronic burnout in Autism and ADHD: living a compassionate and valued life
- Living authentically: supporting neurodivergent clients to safely unmask
- Rejection sensitivity dysphoria: healing the pain, building safety, and deepening connections
Led by Jennifer Kemp, an Autistic and ADHD clinical psychologist with extensive professional expertise and lived experience, the series bridges the gap between theoretical understanding and real-world application.

Join us to learn more and to enhance support to your neurodivergent clients. https://buff.ly/9o9DV9a

06/11/2025

Do you feel like practicing ACT leaves you stuck, making mistakes, and buried in the processes? 😓 You’re not alone but what if you could gain the skills, tools, and confidence to navigate even the trickiest moments with ease?

🌟The ACT Pathway is an extensive training program, designed to support your growth over time. It is not a one-day workshop, but a structured learning journey across four stages, with real practice, feedback, and community built in.

Here’s what else you’ll gain:
✅ ACT essentials: A practical, on-demand introduction to ACT foundations
✅ The next three modules, ACT next steps, ACT intermediate skills, and ACT mastery, delivered as live workshops (and recorded if you miss the dates) to refine your skills and tackle real-world challenges
✅ PLUS four interactive Q&A sessions led by ACT experts to support your learning between modules, giving you time to apply your skills, bring your questions, and connect with the ACT community
✅ Video role-plays and live demonstrations to see ACT processes in action
✅ 25+ hours of expert-led training across 4 online sessions
✅ Discounts on group supervision and other Contextual Consulting training

Whether you’re just starting or looking to deepen your expertise, this program is designed to help you confidently integrate ACT into your work.

🌟 Dive into ACT in 2026 Start your journey today and gain instant access to the first session!

Learn more here: https://buff.ly/soVCm2t

Join Eric Morris for this skills-based masterclass, designed for practitioners who have a working knowledge of ACTp and ...
05/11/2025

Join Eric Morris for this skills-based masterclass, designed for practitioners who have a working knowledge of ACTp and want to develop more advanced, formulation-driven interventions.

Supporting people in their recovery from psychosis requires more than symptom reduction—it involves helping them build lives that are meaningful, autonomous, and values-driven. While many individuals experience distressing symptoms, stigma, and system-related barriers, recovery is possible when therapy fosters psychological flexibility, self-compassion, and engagement in personally meaningful action.

This intermediate level workshop is designed for ACT therapists, mental health practitioners, and supporters who have a foundational knowledge of ACTp and work with individuals recovering from psychosis.

All workshops are recorded, with delegates granted access for 6 months after the live session to rewatch and review. Sign up today on our website: https://buff.ly/BCPu1Hj

04/11/2025

Self-criticism gets us all at times 😩 While it is a common occurrence in many people’s day-to-day lives it can contribute to various mental health issues. To effectively address harmful self-criticism, it is crucial that as therapists, we carefully explore how individuals respond to these thoughts, as their response often determines the impact of such thoughts.

The Forms of responding to self-critical thoughts scale (FoReST) is a tool that examines both self-critical thoughts and an individual’s psychological flexibility in relation to those thoughts. Take a look and try it for yourself from our resource hub: https://buff.ly/aSZrp1f

At the end of November Russell Kolts joins us for CFT for beginners. This workshop provides a hands-on introduction to compassion-focused therapy (CFT), designed for therapists and psychologists wanting to integrate its essential techniques into their work. You’ll learn foundational, evidence-based tools to help clients reduce self-criticism, build self-compassion, and approach difficult emotions with greater resilience. We'd love to see you there: https://buff.ly/57pl6jI

While CBT and ACT are both forms of psychotherapy and share similarities, they have distinct theoretical frameworks and ...
03/11/2025

While CBT and ACT are both forms of psychotherapy and share similarities, they have distinct theoretical frameworks and treatment approaches. It’s important to understand that CBT and ACT are not mutually exclusive, and therapists may integrate elements of both approaches based on the individual’s needs and the nature of the presenting problems.

To learn more about CBT and ACT visit our knowledge hub. https://buff.ly/dVnp3Pt

You can also download this table from our resources section for future reference. https://buff.ly/NTc2yIp

Still to come! Four fantastic online training sessions coming up this month: ✅ ACT for psychosis foundations✅ ACT for ps...
01/11/2025

Still to come! Four fantastic online training sessions coming up this month:
✅ ACT for psychosis foundations
✅ ACT for psychosis masterclass
✅ ACT for insomnia and sleep difficulties
✅ CFT for beginners
Plus there's over 170 hours of ready to go, on-demand training, 100s of free resources and the latest insights into acceptance and commitment therapy, all available on our website! https://buff.ly/nD11eK5

Now before any self-help guru's come for us we should make it clear, Joe writes self-help too BUT our latest blog is abo...
31/10/2025

Now before any self-help guru's come for us we should make it clear, Joe writes self-help too BUT our latest blog is about the complexity of trying to help people with a book (or video!) while also knowing the limits of the whole genre. As authors and creators, we face tension: how to offer hope without feeding the very sense of inadequacy that keeps the industry alive.

Our latest blog looks at this paradox in detail, considering latest research and some thoughts about how self-help and therapy can work together to get the best outcomes. We'd love to hear your take on it!

The self-help paradox blog 👉 https://buff.ly/xqYvNUI
Joe has also talked more about these themes on a recent episode of Life’s Dirty Little Secrets - listen and find the link on our resource hub 👉 https://buff.ly/0afKIIf

And Joe's self help titles:
ACTivate your life: https://buff.ly/wRiRNN2
The mindfulness and acceptance workbook for self-esteem: https://buff.ly/ijBY4oH

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