ACTing Flexibly
Click Here to Register
Become a Member
VirginiaABA Presents: ACTing Flexibly
Speaker: Emily Fleming
Overview: Often, when I bring up ACT to other behavior analysts, their response is something along the lines of “Yeah. I’ve seen the Hexaflex, I’ve done the basic talks, but I have no idea how to use this in my practice.” ACT is all about the flexibility of public and private behavior. And – good news – the behavior of practicing ACT itself can be flexible. We will dig into methods of scaling behavioral flexibility up or down depending on your context. Together we will find that even when you’re not “doing ACT,” you can weave openness, awareness, and engagement into all aspects of your practice.
Speaker Info: Emily Arnold Fleming is a BCBA and professional improviser. She joined the field of Applied Behavior Analysis as a teaching assistant the same year she joined an improvised theater company, weaving the two methodologies together throughout her career. Her Masters-level thesis, titled “‘Yes, and… Sr+!’: Effects of Applied Improvisation on Social Engagement as a Reinforcer,” began her post-graduate passion of merging improvisational strategies with behavioral analytic principles by using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Relational Frame Theory to tie the two together.
Emily has held positions as Director of OverTime Improv, Head Coach for CSz Richmond, and Company Behavior Analyst for Improv | On and Off the Stage, where she taught, coached, and performed improvisational comedy through a behavioral lens. As a Behavior Consultant at The Faison Center, she has worked with staff, stakeholders, and clients to help them act flexibly and connect with their values.
Objectives:
- Identify some “basic” behavioral concepts inside Acceptance and Commitment Training, including: Positive and negative reinforcement, environmental stimuli, conditioning, and learning histories
- Identify areas of flexibility or inflexibility within their own practice
- Create a plan to address an area of inflexibility with supervisees, stakeholders, and/or clients
