Promoting Psychological Flexibility for Resilience and Lasting Behavior Change in System Involved Youth and Families

Megan Lipsett

Training Description

Thoughts and emotions that arise in times of stress inform long-term behaviors (Hayes et al., 1999), which are themselves influenced by a person’s social, psychological, and situational context. ‘Psychological flexibility’ refers to a person’s ability to respond to situations in ways that facilitate their pursuit of their most valued life goals despite the presence of distress (Kashdan & Rottenberg, 2010). A growing body of research demonstrates that this ability leads to psychological benefits and adaptive behavior change (Doorley et al., 2020), possibly due to promoting resilience to stress (Madison, 2021). Parental psychological flexibility has also been found to reduce the risk of adolescent behavioral difficulties (Burke, 2011). Foster and systems-involved youth experience significant rates of social and environmental stressors, along with mental health challenges, and so establishing healthy behaviors can be difficult. This training will introduce the importance of psychological flexibility for system involved youth and families and provide evidence-based approaches to enhancing psychological flexibility to promote stress resilience and long-term behavior change.

Learning Objectives

● Understand what psychological inflexibility / flexibility are, how they impact well-being and long-term behavior, and what evidence-based approaches are shown to enhance psychological flexibility.

● Examine Relational Frame Theory and the importance of context-based approaches to supporting behavior change in system involved youth and families.

● Explore the role of stress in impacting health, psychological well-being, and goal attainment for system involved youth and families.

Agenda

2:00-2:20pm  Overview and Introductions

2:20-2:45pm  Presentation: The role of stress in impacting health, psychological well-being, and goal attainment

2:45-3:30pm  Didactic Activities:Exploring how our thoughts and emotions impact our behaviors.

3:30-3:45pm  BREAK (CEUs will not be offered for this time)

3:45-3:50pm  Presentation: Psychological Flexibility - what it is, how it impacts key outcomes, and the evidence-based approaches to enhancing it.

3:50-4:30pm  Didactic Activities: Developing skills in psychological flexibility

Meet Our Trainer

Megan Lipsett is a doctoral candidate in Social Health Psychology, conducting research in the Social Affective Neuroscience Lab. Megan also holds an MA in Integrative Health Studies from CIIS and is an assistant Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) and the founder of COPIA Health. As a practitioner, Megan has worked with clients who have experienced complex trauma and uses a mindfulness-based approach to supporting resilience. As a research psychologist, she examines how our perceptions impact physiology (such as inflammatory biomarkers and cortisol), social connection, and long-term health behaviors underlying noncommunicable diseases. With an interest in factors that promote resilience to adversity, she focuses on translational work that informs how research on health mindsets can inform behavioral interventions and public policy. She has done program development and facilitation for diverse organizations, including integrative medicine centers, transitional women's homes, social worker training centers, environmental awareness groups, benefit corporations, and health and wellness centers.

This course meets the qualifications for (2.25) BBS CEUs for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.