2-Part Course Acceptance and Commitment Training for Enhancing Music Performance
Thursday 4th November 2021, 5:00 PM - Thursday 11th November 2021 7:00 PM (London Time)
In this two-part course, you will learn how to use skills from Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) to achieve peak performance for yourself or your students. You’ll first receive a brief introduction to ACT, an evidence-based psychotherapy & coaching model that aims to teach psychological flexibility, through promoting mindfulness and acceptance of one’s symptoms of emotional distress, while also identifying & committing to actions consistent with a musician’s values. Next, you’ll receive an overview of the supporting research for ACT as a performance enhancement (PE) program in music, sport, and other disciplines. You’ll then learn the three methods by which ACT is thought to enhance performance across music & other disciplines, and how to implement them within yours or your students’ performances:
1) increased artistic presence, 2) engagement with valued actions, and 3) the combination of these two strategies. Lastly, you’ll learn how ACT affects other, common targets of PE programs, i.e., flow, attention, commitment to practice.
Dr David Juncos
David Juncos, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist, lecturer, performance coach, author, and music performance researcher based in Philadelphia, PA. He has 20 years of experience in treating a variety of clinical problems, including anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders.
Sorry, this is an archived short course...
We have plenty of upcoming short courses coming soon. See details of some of them below or look at the full list of short courses.
Tuesday 17th February 2026
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
(London Time)
Simultaneous Singing and Dancing in Musical Theatre: A Cross-Disciplinary Evidence Review
Debbie Winter
Dr Claire Thomas
This short course invites participants to critically examine the latest cross-disciplinary evidence on the physical and vocal demands of musical theatre performance. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review conducted by Debbie Winter and Claire Thomas (Voice Study Centre, University of Essex), the course explores research from voice science, dance medicine, sports science, and performance pedagogy.
Thursday 19th February 2026
8:30 AM - 10:30 AM
(London Time)
It’s not a virus! Reconceptualizing and De-pathologizing Music Performance Anxiety
Rebecca Herman
Performance Anxiety is one of the most widespread and debilitating challenges facing musicians across all ages, nationalities and musical genres. Despite decades of research and the development of numerous interventions, we do not yet have an established way of supporting performers experiencing performance anxiety. Aimed at performers, teachers, researchers and students, this presentation will first summarise the current state of play in performance anxiety research, before exploring alternative ways to think about performance anxiety, drawing on new research outside of performance psychology...
Thursday 19th February 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Thursday 26th February 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
(London Time)
Performing Pain: Vocal Health in Emotional Roles!
Louisa Morgan
How connected are acted emotions to our real-life emotions? Are they expressed differently? Do they feel different in the body? This 2-part course with Louisa Morgan looks at the potential impact of acted emotion on vocal health, why we should consider it as voice practitioners, and how to care for our performers needing to work with it.