The four hour workshop, Introduction to Affect Centered Therapy, presents the theoretical foundation for ACT. The workshop is available in video (DVD) and audio (CD) formats. Dr. Omaha discusses the developmental model upon which ACT is based. He defines affects and emotions and describes the ten affects humans are genetically programmed to experience. The presentation covers the three components of the etiology of psychopathology. Dr. Omaha discusses the genetic component and the attachment component, and he describes the effect of adversity and trauma on the development of psychopathology. Five etiological principles are offered: deficit, dysregulation, discontinuity, fragmentation, and disordering.

The principles of therapy derived from ACT’s theoretical foundation are presented in the context of the case of Helen, a bulimic. The workshop gives an overview of Affect Management Skills Training (AMST) constituting ACT’s therapeutic principle of remediation. The workshop includes a 10 minute demonstration of the containment skill. ACT’s second therapeutic principle is resolution, and the workshop describes techniques of uncovering and resolving the childhood traumas that are the driving force behind current pathology. The abreactive and the redemptive interventions are described. Ego state work and relapse prevention are also discussed.