I believe that there are people sent into our lives to help us along our journey. Darrah was that person for me. At a time when I was struggling both professionally and personally, Darrah brought the beautiful gift of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Through the ACT training and consultation process she helped those of us involved to experience ACT not only from the perspective of therapist, but as our clients would. Through her modeling and feedback, she guided, supported, and pushed me closer to being the kind of clinician I hope to be, but first and foremost, the kind of person I desire to be. As I willingly move forward in my journey, I hope that I can be as much of a blessing to those around me as she has been a blessing to me!
Darrah Westrup has unquestionably been the best consultant with whom I’ve worked in my 30+ years as a psychologist. Her warmth, unconditional acceptance, encouragement and enthusiasm are contagious and have greatly increased my confidence and excitement as an ACT practitioner. She has helped me to greatly increase my ability to think, feel and BE present in this very exciting therapy. My clients have also benefitted greatly from her warm and wise guidance.
I have very much enjoyed my consultation calls with Dr. Darrah Westrup. She is able to teach me something new every week while maintaining a positive and supportive stance. I am always amazed by how much I don’t know about ACT but with Dr. Westrup’s guidance, I feel more confident and excited to grow.
I had the great fortune of attending a three-day ACT training with Dr. Westrup in September 2013 and am currently participating in group consultation with her to become proficient in the use of this amazing, life-changing therapy. Dr. Westrup is a dynamic and skillful trainer. She was able to guide those of us who were new to ACT through the basic principles while simultaneously assisting those more experienced practitioners in enriching their skill and confidence in providing the therapy. Darrah shared that there is a tendency for ACT therapists to begin to “live” the ACT journey in their own lives as they travel it with their patients…after less than six months of experiencing ACT, I can personally say she was so right! ACT is truly a life-changing therapy for both therapy patients and therapists and a journey that I hope to continue both personally and professionally for many years to come.
After reading her original text on acceptance and commitment therapy,(ACT), I was given a rare opportunity to organize a training and engage in consultation with Darrah. From the genesis of our conversations through the consultation process, Darrah brought intellect, insight, humor, and her full presence. She made learning ACT tangible while challenging me to go to the next level. I am profoundly grateful for Darrah's professional contribution to my life as well as the personal transformation that Darrah's work has empowered me to make.
I had the great honor of going through a three day Act training with Darrah Westrup and learned more about practicing ACT during this time than in any other training that I had taken in the past. Darrah has a unique style that not only helped me grow professionally and personally; I also had a life changing experience that changed the way I view myself and deepened my compassion for others. Thank you Darrah!
During the consultation, Darrah faithfully attends to our areas of strength and weaknesses in the therapy and pushes consultees to grow, to take risks, to learn the technology of ACT while also flexibly applying the model to fit client’s needs. She attends to both theory and application of the model, and how to make this therapy your own and fit your personality while also staying true to the model. All in all, she is an excellent consultation provider.
The ACT training with Darrah Westrup was inspiring in both my professional and my personal life. It gave me a new vision to see how powerful metaphors and experiential exercises can be transforming in therapy. ACT allows a client to reclaim their life by realizing their values, despite their suffering. Darrah’s training in ACT has also inspired me in my personal life to realize how strong I am as I reflect on how I carry my own struggles; it empowers me as a person. Thank you Darrah, for your mentoring.
