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First Steps with ACT

An introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Jacqueline Hilaire, psychologist and director of Psy Etc. Learn what ACT is and what it can bring to your practice before you commit to a full training path. The course is given in French.

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Jacqueline Hilaire, smiling, holds open the door of the Psy Etc. clinic in Montréal

Status: Coming soon
With: Jacqueline Hilaire, psychologist
Level: Introduction, in French
Program, length and price: Announced when registration opens

ACT in a few words

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a behavioural, contextual approach developed by Steven C. Hayes, Kirk Strosahl and Kelly Wilson. It aims for psychological flexibility: the capacity to stay in contact with what is happening now, difficult thoughts and emotions included, and to act in the direction of what matters to you.

ACT helps people change their relationship with painful thoughts, without trying to make them go away. It rests on six processes:

Acceptance: Making room for difficult thoughts, emotions and sensations, rather than struggling to avoid them or push them away.
Defusion: Stepping back from thoughts: seeing them as words and images passing through, rather than truths that dictate what to do.
The present moment: Paying attention, with openness and curiosity, to what is happening here and now, inside and out.
Self-as-context: The part of you that notices thoughts and emotions without merging with them. It is the “Me noticing” of the ACT Matrix.
Values: What truly matters to the person: the direction they want to give their life.
Committed action: Concrete steps, guided by values, that you keep taking even when it is hard.

Is it for you?

This introduction is for psychologists, psychotherapists and mental health practitioners who want to discover ACT on solid foundations.

It’s a good fit if

You keep hearing about ACT and want to know what it is
You already use a few of its exercises and want to understand the logic behind them
You are unsure about starting a full training and first want to see whether the approach suits you

You will leave with

The vocabulary and core principles of ACT
A first sense of how the approach plays out in session
Enough perspective to decide whether you want to go further

The detailed program will be published when registration opens.

The matrix, a way in

Jacqueline Hilaire draws on the ACT Matrix in her practice: two crossing lines, with “Me noticing” at the centre. In session, the matrix helps people sort what they experience: what they take in through the five senses and what goes on in their mind, what moves them away from and what moves them toward who and what matters to them. It is often a simple way into ACT.

Move the dot around the matrix

The ACT Matrix was developed by Kevin Polk and colleagues.

Your trainer

Jacqueline Hilaire

Jacqueline Hilaire is a psychologist, a member of the Ordre des psychologues du Québec, and director of the Psy Etc. clinic. A graduate of Aix-Marseille University in France, she has been licensed to practise in Quebec since 2018. She worked in school and organizational settings before devoting herself to clinical psychology. Today she works with adolescents and adults, drawing on the ACT Matrix model, with particular attention to listening and the therapeutic alliance. She also takes part in training and supervising professionals.

Alongside Russ Harris

In June 2026, Jacqueline Hilaire was alongside Russ Harris, author of The Happiness Trap, at the two in-person workshops he gave for Psy Etc. in Montréal and Toronto: “ACT for Autism & ADHD: A Neuroaffirming Approach”.

Russ Harris and Jacqueline Hilaire with workshop participants in front of a glass facade in Montréal — **Montréal**In-person workshop, June 9–10, 2026

Russ Harris and Jacqueline Hilaire with workshop participants in a training room in Toronto — **Toronto**In-person workshop, June 15–16, 2026

Frequently asked questions

When will the course be offered?

The date has not been set yet. Write to us and we will let you know as soon as registration opens.

Do I need to know ACT already?

No. This course is designed as an introduction, for people who are new to the approach. Any prerequisites will be specified when registration opens.

Will the course be recognized by the OPQ?

The format, length, price and any recognition by the Ordre des psychologues du Québec will be announced when registration opens.

Does asking to be notified commit me to anything?

No. You will get an email when registration opens, and then you decide.

Be the first to know

Write to us and we will let you know as soon as registration opens.

Coming soon