Dr. Elisabeth Saxton, a clinical psychologist that has worked with individuals managing chronic pain and illness for over a decade, leads participants through a discussion focused on improving mental health and living beyond a PF diagnosis.
Dr. Saxton explains a methodology called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) which is a psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies, together with commitment and behaviour change strategies to increase psychological flexibility. It is intended to change how you walk into a situation and help you think about doing things differently.
The goal is to have a psychological shift in how you see the world around you and how you interact with it, rather than it being about symptom reduction of your chronic illness. It’s about changing how you interact with your condition and how it impacts your life.
Dr. Elisabeth Saxton
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST & NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES CBI HEALTH CENTRE
Elisabeth graduated from Clinical Psychology in 2005 and after a period working with children and teens doing assessment and treatment, she found her passion in interdisciplinary rehabilitation. She joined OrionHealth in 2009, which became part of CBI Health Group in 2015. She has stayed as part of the treatment team but became increasingly involved in assessment, program development, and program evaluation. Elisabeth empowers clinicians to innovate while still focusing on best practice. Any chance she gets, you will find her speaking about the effectiveness of programs; trying to create an expectation for better treatment and functional outcomes for individuals with physical or psychological injuries. She believes this is done through creating teams where we bring the best out in each other and our clients.