ACT for Pain: A Primer

Many clinicians notice that even when they’re doing the “right” things, progress can stall. Pain persists, clients feel overwhelmed, and conversations start to go in circles.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) offers a different approach to take. ACT helps clients develop a more flexible relationship with pain, thoughts, and emotions while reconnecting with what matters most in their lives.

This course is designed as a practical introduction to ACT for healthcare providers. You’ll learn simple concepts, language, and strategies that can be used in everyday clinical conversations with clients experiencing pain and emotional distress.

In this course, you’ll learn how to:
• Explain ACT concepts to clients in clear, accessible language
• Help clients step back from unhelpful thoughts
• Guide patients toward values-driven behaviour change
• Use flexible goal setting
• Apply ACT strategies in clinical conversations

If you’re curious about integrating ACT into your practice, this course provides a clear starting point and practical tools you can begin using right away.

It serves as a comprehensive primer for our deeper dive, ACT: A Practical Guide for Rehabilitation Providers
Format

Virtual: Self-paced

Facilitator

Lara Desrosiers BSc. Kin, MSc. OT Reg. (Ont)

Audience

Any healthcare provider

Prerequisites

No expertise or previous learning in the content area is required.
Duration

Access for 3 months
~4.0 hours of course work including viewing, exercises, reflections, downloadable worksheets & resources

Price (including tax)

$67

Special Needs Requests

Learners requiring accommodations are encouraged to contact us at admin@amp-healthcare.ca. AMP Healthcare Education makes reasonable efforts to address identified needs in a timely and confidential manner to support equitable participation.
Course Objectives
Meet the Facilitator
Assessment & Certification
Target Audience

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

Describe the foundational philosophy and principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and their relevance to persistent pain.

Identify psychological flexibility as a primary target of ACT and recognize patterns of psychological inflexibility that may influence pain-related participation.

Identify experiential avoidance and cognitive fusion as two patterns of psychological inflexibility that may interfere with engagement in meaningful occupations.

Describe the six core ACT processes that support psychological flexibility and their relevance to pain care.

Apply introductory ACT-informed strategies associated with the six core processes to support psychological flexibility and engagement in meaningful occupations.

Meet the Facilitator

Meet Lara Desrosiers BSc. Kin, MSc. OT Reg. (Ont)

Lara Desrosiers, MScOT, OT Reg. (Ont.) is an occupational therapist with over 15 years of clinical experience in mental health and rehabilitation. Since graduating from McMaster University in 2009, she has worked extensively in community mental health, supporting individuals experiencing mental illness, trauma, addiction, persistent pain, and complex health conditions using evidence-informed occupational therapy and psychotherapeutic approaches.

Lara is the founder of Pelvic Resilience, a private practice in Ontario specializing in persistent pain, pelvic health, and psychologically informed rehabilitation. She has completed extensive post-professional training in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), Motivational Interviewing, pain neuroscience, and trauma-informed care.

Through her clinical practice and continuing education programs, Lara supports rehabilitation professionals in integrating psychologically informed and trauma informed approaches into clinical practice. 

Disclosure Statement:
Financial Disclosure: Lara Desrosiers receives compensation as the developer and instructor of this course.

Non-Financial Disclosure: Lara Desrosiers has no relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.

Assessment & Certification

AMP Healthcare Education is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. PD activity approval ID# 0000017165. This distance learning-independent activity is offered at .40 CEUs, introductory, OT Service Delivery and Foundational Knowledge. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.

In order to receive a course certificate and, for AOTA CEU seekers, CEUs, participants will be expected to complete all of the lessons (watch 100% of video lessons and open all E-books/PDFs) and submit all reflection practices. Participants will also be expected to complete a Knowledge Test at the end of the course with a minimum passing grade of 70% AND submit an evaluation of the overall learning experience.

Target Audience


This is an introductory level course designed for Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Kinesiologists and other rehabilitation providers looking to learn ACT foundations and practical strategies to integrate into working with individuals struggling with pain.
No previous learning or expertise in the content area of ACT is required. There are no pre-requisites to taking this course.

Course Lessons

Testimonials

What our learners say

Since the concept of ACT is new to me, I would have to say the whole presentation was beneficial. It was especially helpful to break down the concept of Psychological Flexibility into its components then helps to see where we can support our clients at their stage in the moment.

The application to OT was incredibly helpful! I've done ACT courses in the past, but I found this one most user friendly and practical.
It was so helpful to hear clinical examples, receive relevant handouts and get a short list of activities/exercises to get me started exploring ACT concepts with my clients. There are SO many ACT resources out there (it can be overwhelming!) so it can be nice to start with just a small selection of tips for integrating ACT that have been applied in the OT context successfully.

Primer

$67
Intro Includes
  • 3 CORE MODULES
  • Video lessons
  • CASE ExampleS and Readings
  • Clinical reflections
  • 3-months of access

Full Course

$497
Intro Includes
  • 10 CORE MODULES
  • Advanced skills
  • case Studies
  • Clinical reflections
  • Integration GUIDES
  • QUICK REFERENCE SUMMARIES
  • complex Case formulation
  • Monthly Office Hours
  • Lifetime access
Lara Derosiers
Registered Occupational Therapist
Meet the instructor
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY EDUCATOR
Lara has worked in community mental health and addictions programs since 2009, supporting clients individually and facilitating group programming. She now operates a private practice, Pelvic Resilience in Ontario, where she supports individuals struggling with persistent pain and pelvic health challenges to return to living full and meaningful lives.

Lara enjoys teaching multidisciplinary audiences how to build impactful psychologically-informed and trauma-informed practices. She has presented at multiple conferences, taught professional development courses, and contributed chapters to clinical textbooks, sharing practical strategies for integrating psychological approaches into everyday clinical care.

30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee

We’re confident you’ll love learning with us, but we understand that sometimes plans change! That’s why we offer a 30-day guarantee for our self-paced courses.

If you decide to change your mind within 30 days of signing up, simply email us at admin@amp-healthcare.ca, and we’ll gladly provide a refund, minus a 10% processing fee.

Your learning journey is important to us, and we’re here to support you every step of the way!