ACT for Substance Use: Promoting Flexibility and Change in Recovery

August 11, 2026

12:30 pm – 4:00 pm PST
Virtual Presentation via Zoom

Hosted by the Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Mental Health Training Program

Registration coming soon.

Presented by Daniel Johnson, PhD

Presenter Bio

Daniel (Dan) Johnson is a licensed clinical psychologist in Massachusetts. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, Boulder, completed his predoctoral internship at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the VA Boston Healthcare System/Harvard Medical School.

Dan has previously worked as a staff psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital’s outpatient substance use disorders (SUDs) clinic, the Director of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Program at Boston Child Study Center, and as the Education Lead at Tend Health.

He is now in private practice, providing evidence-based therapy to adults and offering training to mental health professionals and organizations. Dan has trained clinicians internationally on evidence-based treatments, with a focus on mindfulness and acceptance-based behavioral therapies (ACT, DBT, CBT) and he has been designated by the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science as a Peer Reviewed ACT Trainer. As a faculty member at William James College, Dan teaches courses to psychology graduate students on ACT and evidence-based treatments for SUDs.

Mindfulness and valued living are essential components of Dan’s life outside of work, including in his roles as a practitioner of Buddhism, a person in long-term recovery, a White-bodied person working toward racial and economic justice for all, and as a loving husband and father.

Most of us do not need to look far to see someone we care about struggling with addiction. This is true for you, the human being, and even more true for you, the provider, that comes into contact with the lives of so many every day. As clinicians, the ubiquity of substance use and addiction is so vast that we must be able to engage with it effectively, whether we identify as “specialists” in treating substance use or not. All clinicians will benefit from having a foundational understanding of substance use and addictions and a flexible, compassionate, and authentic approach to supporting clients and their loved ones with these struggles.

The “What” of this course:

In this course, you will be empowered to use the principles of Contextual Behavioral Science (CBS) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to:

  • Understand substance use and addictions through a contextually-sensitive and ACT-consistent lens
  • Help your clients, your colleagues and yourself to notice, name and undermine substance use stigma when it is encountered
  • Engage with effective techniques to address common clinical presentations in SUDs
  • Find common ground between the ACT approach and Mutual Help Groups such as 12 Step, SMART Recovery, and others.

The “How” of this course:

Each session will include the introduction of new learning material, enlivening small group and breakout discussions, and experiential practices to bring key concepts and interventions to life. Dan will support participants in looking inward, to identify areas for growth and sources of strength in the learning process. He will also provide participants with concrete skills to share with clients, including dynamic visual learning aids.

Course Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:

  1. Define and conceptualize substance use and addictions through the lens of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
  2. Identify ACT-consistent techniques for responding to common client presentations and clinical dilemmas (substance use stigma, shame and limiting self-narratives, triggers and cravings)
  3. Identify community-based Mutual Help Groups and describe how they can align with ACT-consistent treatment goals.

Instructional Level

Advanced

This CE program is free to Kaiser Permanente employees.
Instructional Methodology
Lecture
Audio/Visual
On-line Presentation

Continuing Education Information

Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Training Programs (KPMHTP) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. KPMHTP maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Kaiser Permanente Northern California Mental Health Training Programs designate this live activity for 3 hours continuing education credits for the above-identified licensed professionals.

Refund and Attendance Policy

This session is free to all Kaiser Employees. There is no known commercial support for this program. For questions and requests for information, please contact our program evaluator: supria.k.gill@kp.org

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Those who attend the program in full and complete the appropriate evaluation form will receive CE credits. Please note that credit will only be granted for those who attend the entire lecture.

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