ACT for Maintaining Change
Friday, October 23, 2026
Noon to 1 pm EST (1 CE)
Friday Lunch Series
Presenter: Joel Guarna, PhD
Offered through Psychology Specialists of Maine
Decades after the popularization of the Stages of Change model and Motivational Interviewing, most therapies remain focused on a narrow phase of the therapy process–Action. This presentation explores how principles and strategies from ACT can help clients secure the changes they have made in therapy and prevent lapses back into old patterns.
Although the language of “relapse prevention” is most commonly associated with the treatment of substance use disorders and addictions, the underlying principles are equally relevant to psychotherapy more broadly. Clients who have made meaningful gains in therapy can find themselves slipping back into familiar patterns of thinking, behaving, avoiding, and responding to difficult emotions. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can help clients recognize and respond effectively to these patterns while sustaining the changes they have made in therapy. Particular attention will be given to the distinction between flexible, mindful awareness of warning signs and rigid or hypervigilant self-monitoring, as well as practical strategies for responding to setbacks and supporting lasting change beyond the therapy room.
$35 / 1 CE for psychologists, social workers, and counselors in Maine.
Use discount code SMACTFIVE for $5 off!
4th Mondays ACT Study Group, October
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Group usually meets on the 4th Monday of each month (hence the name).
Status of Group: Full/closed. Please contact Joel if you want to be on a waitlist for an opening.
Potential Agenda:
TBD, bring a case!
Private Practice Salon, November 2026
Our beloved Private Practice Salon is being held on Nov 13 from 8-9am. This is the space to share your insights, questions, thoughts, musings about private practice and all its wonders. There are so many pieces other than the clinical inquiries to running and maintaining a private practice in our modern world. Please join us in this welcoming group to shine the light of awareness on your practice (or future practice).
Watch for Email Invitation for this Virtual Group via Google Meets.
Please email Kate with any questions.
Plan is to meet quarterly. Stay tuned!
Agenda: Open
Cost: No charge to SMACT members.
ACT Peer Consultation Group, October
Our no-cost, open group for professionals interested in connecting with others while learning ACT.
Group usually meets on the third Friday of each month.
Format varies but includes discussion of ACT concepts and strategies, case consultations, and a wide range of other topics. Groups are currently meeting on Zoom.
This meeting will be hosted by Joel. Please email him with questions or agenda items.
Possible Agenda items:
TBD
We always prioritize salient and pressing concerns, questions, and topics!
Bring a case!
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Intensive Training
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Intensive Training
Daniel J. Moran, PhD, BCBA-D
Offered through PESI
Your Chance for a Premier 2‑Day ACT Training in Portland, ME or at Home via Live Webcast!
Over two interactive days of professional training, you'll learn how to:
Incorporate ACT effectively in your everyday therapy practice
Go beyond DSM™ diagnoses to what's really driving emotional and behavioral problems
Put the ACT "Hexaflex" into practice for accurate case conceptualizations
Adapt for anxiety, depression, addiction, trauma, and interpersonal challenges
Apply the best interventions and metaphors from ACT into your sessions
SMACT members special pricing for both the in-person training and webcast.
In person in Portland
SMACT price: $269.99
Code: SMACT26
There are only 50 uses available for this code.
Live webcast
SMACT price: $199.99
Code: SMACT
Both codes expire October 15.
1st Mondays ACT Study Group, October
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Status of Group: Closed. Please contact Joel if you want to join another study group or be on a waitlist for an opening. Group usually meets on the first Monday of each month, alternating between Zoom and in-person (see below).
Agenda:
TBD; bring a case!
Location: Virtual
Future:
Tentative plan: We will resume virtual (Zoom) meetings monthly.
4th Mondays ACT Study Group, September
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Group usually meets on the 4th Monday of each month (hence the name).
Status of Group: Full/closed. Please contact Joel if you want to be on a waitlist for an opening.
Potential Agenda:
TBD, bring a case!
ACT Peer Consultation Group, September
Our no-cost, open group for professionals interested in connecting with others while learning ACT.
Group usually meets on the third Friday of each month.
Format varies but includes discussion of ACT concepts and strategies, case consultations, and a wide range of other topics. Groups are currently meeting on Zoom.
This meeting will be hosted by Joel. Please email him with questions or agenda items.
Possible Agenda items:
TBD
We always prioritize salient and pressing concerns, questions, and topics!
Bring a case!
1st Mondays ACT Study Group, September
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Status of Group: Closed. Please contact Joel if you want to join another study group or be on a waitlist for an opening. Group usually meets on the first Monday of each month, alternating between Zoom and in-person (see below).
No meeting in September due to Labor Day holiday.
Agenda:
TBD; bring a case!
Location: Virtual
Future:
Tentative plan: We will resume virtual (Zoom) meetings monthly.
4th Mondays ACT Study Group, August
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Group usually meets on the 4th Monday of each month (hence the name).
Status of Group: Full/closed. Please contact Joel if you want to be on a waitlist for an opening.
Potential Agenda:
TBD, bring a case!
ACT Peer Consultation Group, August
Our no-cost, open group for professionals interested in connecting with others while learning ACT.
Group usually meets on the third Friday of each month.
Format varies but includes discussion of ACT concepts and strategies, case consultations, and a wide range of other topics. Groups are currently meeting on Zoom.
This meeting will be hosted by Joel. Please email him with questions or agenda items.
Possible Agenda items:
TBD
We always prioritize salient and pressing concerns, questions, and topics!
Bring a case!
1st Mondays ACT Study Group, August
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Status of Group: Closed. Please contact Joel if you want to join another study group or be on a waitlist for an opening. Group usually meets on the first Monday of each month, alternating between Zoom and in-person (see below).
Regular meeting this month. No meeting next month (September) due to holiday.
Agenda:
TBD; bring a case!
Location: Virtual
Future:
Tentative plan: We will resume virtual (Zoom) meetings monthly.
4th Mondays ACT Study Group, July
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Group usually meets on the 4th Monday of each month (hence the name).
No group in July due to vacation conflicts. See you in August!
Status of Group: Full/closed. Please contact Joel if you want to be on a waitlist for an opening.
Potential Agenda:
TBD, bring a case!
ACT Peer Consultation Group, July
Our no-cost, open group for professionals interested in connecting with others while learning ACT.
NO MEETING IN JULY! See you in August.
Group usually meets on the third Friday of each month.
Format varies but includes discussion of ACT concepts and strategies, case consultations, and a wide range of other topics. Groups are currently meeting on Zoom.
This meeting will be hosted by Joel. Please email him with questions or agenda items.
Possible Agenda items:
TBD
We always prioritize salient and pressing concerns, questions, and topics!
Bring a case!
1st Mondays ACT Study Group, July
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Status of Group: Closed. Please contact Joel if you want to join another study group or be on a waitlist for an opening. Group usually meets on the first Monday of each month, alternating between Zoom and in-person (see below).
Agenda:
TBD; bring a case!
Location: Virtual
Future:
Tentative plan: We will resume virtual (Zoom) meetings monthly.
4th Mondays ACT Study Group, June
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Group usually meets on the 4th Monday of each month (hence the name).
Status of Group: Full/closed. Please contact Joel if you want to be on a waitlist for an opening.
Potential Agenda:
TBD, bring a case!
ACT Peer Consultation Group, June
Our no-cost, open group for professionals interested in connecting with others while learning ACT.
Group usually meets on the third Friday of each month.
Format varies but includes discussion of ACT concepts and strategies, case consultations, and a wide range of other topics. Groups are currently meeting on Zoom.
This meeting will be hosted by Joel. Please email him with questions or agenda items.
Possible Agenda items:
TBD
We always prioritize salient and pressing concerns, questions, and topics!
Bring a case!
EvoS Book Club, June
Evolution Science & Behavior (EvoS) Book Club.
We usually meet on the (second or) third Wednesday evening of each month (more or less!).
Agenda. This season we will take another of our detours off the strict EvoS theme to read The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan.
We will read through and complete the book for June.
For July, we will start the new Michael Pollan book, A World Appears, about consciousness.
Please RSVP if you are new to the group.
Time: Now meeting in-person at +/- 6:00-6:30 pm at local restaurants.
Location: TBD. Watch for a separate email or text with reminder about address.
BTW: Get a taste of what EvoS Book Club is about by watching this video (whole video but relevance especially demonstrated >1:00 into the talk).
Community BBQ
SAVE THE DATE! Times are placeholders only; check back for details.
Who? SMACT members and family, lurkers and future SMACT members…
Location & other details pending.
Building on the Basics: ACT Impactful Strategies Part 2
Presented by Joel Guarna, PhD
Hosted by Psychology Specialists of Maine
This workshop will pick up where Part 1 left off. Joel will share additional examples of “lessons learned” about ACT best practices from using ACT in various settings: a 10-week ACT-based program in a local pain clinic, behavioral integration work in a diabetes clinic, individual therapy in a private practice, and a VA addictions clinic. We will dive more deeply into the six ACT core processes of Acceptance, Defusion, Values, Committed Action, Present Moment Awareness, and Self-as-Context. Part 2 will extend the learning of content back onto participants’ own cases, challenging participants to think through and conceptualize from an ACT lens.
Register for Building on the Basics: ACT Impactful Strategies Part 2
3 CEs for psychologists, social workers, and counselors in Maine.
(Missed Part 1? You can take it as a Recorded Webinar here.)
1st Mondays ACT Study Group, June
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Status of Group: Closed. Please contact Joel if you want to join another study group or be on a waitlist for an opening. Group usually meets on the first Monday of each month, alternating between Zoom and in-person (see below).
Agenda:
TBD; bring a case!
Location: Virtual
Future:
Tentative plan: We will resume virtual (Zoom) meetings monthly.
ACT Peer Consultation Group, May
Our no-cost, open group for professionals interested in connecting with others while learning ACT.
Group usually meets on the third Friday of each month. Peer group in May 2026 moved to 4th Friday to avoid the SMACT Training Event on 5/15.
Format varies but includes discussion of ACT concepts and strategies, case consultations, and a wide range of other topics. Groups are currently meeting on Zoom.
This meeting will be hosted by Joel. Please email him with questions or agenda items.
Possible Agenda items:
TBD
We always prioritize salient and pressing concerns, questions, and topics!
Bring a case!
4th Mondays ACT Study Group, May
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Group usually meets on the 4th Monday of each month (hence the name).
Moved the date to 3rd Monday in May to avoid Memorial Day!
Status of Group: Full/closed. Please contact Joel if you want to be on a waitlist for an opening.
Potential Agenda:
TBD, bring a case!
Training Event
“How Is That Working for You?”
A Functional, Affirming Approach to Adult ADHD
Integrating ACT and CBT-EF for Sustainable Change
Christie Pickel, PhD
See Registration Page for details
EvoS Book Club, May
Evolution Science & Behavior (EvoS) Book Club.
We usually meet on the (second or) third Wednesday evening of each month (more or less!).
Agenda. This season we will take another of our detours off the strict EvoS theme to read The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan.
We will read through and complete the book for May.
Please RSVP if you are new to the group.
Time: Now meeting in-person at +/- 6:00-6:30 pm at local restaurants.
Location: TBD. Watch for a separate email or text with reminder about address.
BTW: Get a taste of what EvoS Book Club is about by watching this video (whole video but relevance especially demonstrated >1:00 into the talk).
Private Practice Salon, May 2026
Our beloved Private Practice Salon is being held on May 8th from 8-9am. This is the space to share your insights, questions, thoughts, musings about private practice and all its wonders. There are so many pieces other than the clinical inquiries to running and maintaining a private practice in our modern world. Please join us in this welcoming group to shine the light of awareness on your practice (or future practice).
Watch for Email Invitation for this Virtual Group via Google Meets.
Please email Kate with any questions.
Plan is to meet quarterly. Stay tuned!
Agenda: Open
Cost: No charge to SMACT members.
1st Mondays ACT Study Group, May
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Status of Group: Closed. Please contact Joel if you want to join another study group or be on a waitlist for an opening. Group usually meets on the first Monday of each month, alternating between Zoom and in-person (see below).
Agenda:
TBD; bring a case!
Location: Virtual
Future:
Tentative plan: We will resume virtual (Zoom) meetings monthly.
Unlocking the Power of Small Circles: A 2-Day Experiential Workshop
Unlocking the Power of Small Circles: A 2-Day Experiential Workshop
The Art and Science of Healing Groups
The healing power of groups is foundational to substance abuse, mental health, and behavioral healthcare. While the focus of a group may vary, the underlying processes of group work are universal. This active, 2-day workshop demonstrates how to harness these universal dynamics to turn a group of strangers into a powerful circle of support and growth.
Built on the six core processes of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)—defusion, expansion, presence, perspective, values, and committed action—this training builds the confidence of both beginner and experienced facilitators. Through a mix of neurobiology, evolution, and hands-on practice, you will learn to step back for a broader view of group functioning while leaning in to address real-world challenges.
Facilitated by Teresa Valliere, LCSW, LADC, CCS
EvoS Book Club, April
Evolution Science & Behavior (EvoS) Book Club.
We usually meet on the (second or) third Wednesday evening of each month (more or less!).
Agenda. This season we will take another of our detours off the strict EvoS theme to read The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan.
We will read through the THIRD six chapters of this book for April.
Please RSVP if you are new to the group.
Time: Now meeting in-person at +/- 6:00-6:30 pm at local restaurants.
Location: TBD. Watch for a separate email or text with reminder about address.
BTW: Get a taste of what EvoS Book Club is about by watching this video (whole video but relevance especially demonstrated >1:00 into the talk).
4th Mondays ACT Study Group, April
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Group usually meets on the 4th Monday of each month (hence the name).
Status of Group: Full/closed. Please contact Joel if you want to be on a waitlist for an opening.
Potential Agenda:
TBD, bring a case!
ACT Peer Consultation Group, April
Our no-cost, open group for professionals interested in connecting with others while learning ACT. Groups meet on the third Friday of each month. Format varies but includes discussion of ACT concepts and strategies, case consultations, and a wide range of other topics. Groups are currently meeting on Zoom.
This meeting will be hosted by Joel. Please email him with questions or agenda items.
Possible Agenda items:
TBD
We always prioritize salient and pressing concerns, questions, and topics!
Bring a case!
1st Mondays ACT Study Group, April
Facilitated by Joel Guarna, PhD.
Status of Group: Closed. Please contact Joel if you want to join another study group or be on a waitlist for an opening. Group usually meets on the first Monday of each month, alternating between Zoom and in-person (see below).
Agenda:
TBD; bring a case!
Location: TBD
Future:
Tentative plan: We will hold in-person meetings on alternating months (February and April 2026). This is an increase in the in-person meetings per expressed preference by group members and is an increase from the rate of quarterly/seasonal meetings.
Become A Member
By joining SMACT, you support a growing non-profit that is dedicated to promoting the use of ACT and other mindfulness-based approaches to wellness. Our members have access to discounted rates on trainings, book clubs, annual meetings and our yearly retreat on Cushing Island.