Dr. Twohig will examine the distinction between healthy striving and clinical perfectionism, highlighting the psychological processes that differ between a desire to do well and high standards that lead to self-criticism, avoidance, and emotional suffering. Attendees will learn how clinical perfectionism manifests in adolescents and college students, including common warning signs. Attendees will be encouraged to consider practical questions that can help individuals recognize problematic perfectionism within themselves and loved ones, and better understand its impact on mental health, relationships, and functioning. The presentation will then introduce an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) framework for responding to clinical perfectionism. Participants will leave with a practical understanding of how ACT can help adolescents and college students pursue valued goals while reducing the rigid patterns of behavior that maintain clinical perfectionism. The presentation will be followed by 15 minutes of Q&A.

 

Michael P. Twohig, PhD is a psychologist and Professor at Utah State University, where he co-runs the ACT Research Group. He is past president of the Association of Contextual Behavioral Science and winner of the 2025 D. Wynn Thorne Career Research Award. His research focuses on the use of ACT across a variety of clinical presentations with an emphasis on obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed papers, many book chapters, and 13 books. In 2022, 2024, and 2025, he was rated as the most productive author on ACT in the world.