Acceptance And Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT (pronounced as "act"), is a therapy approach to accepting and improving one's quality of life. Acceptance and commitment therapy, like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), helps people focus on the present and move forward from overwhelming emotions to improve mental health. In ACT therapy, acceptance means acknowledging what's out of your control and commitment means committing to moving forward.
Acceptance and commitment therapy can be conducted online and in person. It can help diffuse the impact of negative emotions (known in clinical psychology as cognitive defusion) and reshape your thinking to treat depression, anxiety, and other similar mental disorders. The Association for Contextual Behavioral Science has a wealth of resources on ACT therapy and behavior therapy.
What's the goal of acceptance and commitment therapy?
With a licensed professional, you'll learn coping mechanisms and skills specifically tailored to your situation explained through the lens of cognitive behavioral therapy methods. These can be used to help you feel acceptance in the present and can be applied throughout your life to handle tough experiences and stay present. The content of these sessions during treatment may focus on helping you accept your situation and commit to changing your perspective or behaviors.
If you are experiencing trauma, support is available. Please see our Get Help Now page for more resources.
How acceptance and commitment therapy for thoughts works
- Acceptance – accepting the situation so that a plan for action can be made.
- Cognitive defusion – changing the way you view or interact with thoughts so that their negative or unhelpful aspects are lessened.
- Contact with the present moment – also called psychological flexibility, means learning to be more mindful and present in the current moment to gain a greater sense of self and events without judgment.
- The Observing Self – you are not your thoughts or feelings, and you can learn to consciously observe, experience, and process them without attaching your self-value or identity to them.
- Values – “chosen qualities of purposive action” without “avoidance, social, or fusion.”
- Committed action – developing and choosing effective action and concrete goals related to the chosen values.
Acceptance and commitment therapy requires a certain degree of psychological flexibility. Think of yourself as a filter. When a feeling comes to the surface, allow it to pass through you like a liquid. Don't obsess over the feeling or judge it or yourself, and don't give it the ability to warp into another aggravating thought. Give it time to wash through you, imagining it like a wave that will eventually break over the shore. Once it passes, you can sit down and process what you felt.
Reminders for ACT
During the processing stage, it's imperative not to get stuck in a cycle of rumination. Those who live with anxiety and depression symptoms are particularly prone to delving into this rabbit hole, which therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy included, attempts to avoid – in this method, through behavior modification. You want to diffuse (the first principle) these negative thoughts instead of agitating them.
An anxious brain is on constant alert, cycling through different scenarios in which things can go from wrong, or even alright, to worse. When you allow these thoughts, feelings, and emotions to pass, you can find a peaceful pond sitting on the other side of your thoughts instead of a warring ocean.
Here are some reminders to consider:
- You are in control of your own body even if you are not in control of your surroundings.
- It's okay to not be good at everything you try. That's what trying is for, and you don’t have to be good at something to find joy in it.
- Your strengths and your weaknesses are valuable as opportunities to learn and grow.
- Do not act on every single thought. Let them flow like a river back to its source.
- What happened years ago is not happening right now.
These are just some examples of what an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) therapist might ask you to say to yourself during these moments. Use whichever ones work best while you're focusing on being mindful.
Mindfulness and how to achieve it
Imagine being able to quiet those intrusive thoughts that plague you during the day and trade them for your surroundings in the present moment. There can be a sense of calmness in this action. You may feel lighter, perhaps even a bit more in control of your own body and breathing than you thought. You may feel your shoulders relax and your head start to feel clear. You can hear yourself breathe through the silence surrounding you.
To achieve a state of mindfulness, one must focus on the present situation. What do you hear? What can you smell? Is there something in your vision or have you closed your eyes to focus more on your other senses? Are you cold or warm? How does your food taste? These sensations aren't to prompt more emotions, but to help diffuse the unfavorable ones. Once you can separate yourself from those uncomfortable feelings, you can focus more on going about your day without them.
Goal setting is an important component of acceptance and commitment therapy. Being mindful more often can help you clarify the important goals in your life that you would like to achieve, however big or small. It could be publishing a book or surrounding yourself with happier people. Maybe you want to go a full day without panicking, or you want to be able to get into your work without mental disruption. What habits would you like to curb that are holding you back?
How does acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) help?
Through acceptance and commitment therapy, you can discover your most valued desires. Clearing negative emotions and memories by bringing your attention to the present can pave way for other things in life that serve you and your growth. What once was a difficult battle could become a clear path for you to walk.
It can be scary discovering there's a world outside of that haze of thinking. What else can you finally do that you haven't been able to? How will you be able to turn the page? Paint that picture? Write that book? Travel to new places? Everything may feel possible when you make room for your true self to thrive without the weight of frightful emotions and worries. This is how therapy, including acceptance and commitment therapy, has helped the lives of millions.
How to commit
As much as acceptance and commitment therapy can help, therapy only helps someone who is willing to dedicate themselves to the practice. Consistent attendance—whether in person or virtually— in addition to engaging in sessions and exercises is the key to reaping the benefits of this psychotherapy. Your commitment begins when you start acceptance and commitment therapy sessions. Then, it's your commitment to yourself that keeps you continuing therapy each session you attend. And from there, commitment lies in your desire to be healthy and safe.
You deserve to be healthy and happy in your life—remember that when you begin therapy like ACT or CBT. Keep pushing forward because you deserve growth and relief.
Utilizing online ACT
There is evidence supporting the use of online acceptance and commitment therapy when dealing with a variety of mental health concerns. Various studies have shown ACT therapy to be an effective approach to reduce chronic pain and emotional pain. In a broad-based review published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, the effects of online ACT on those experiencing symptoms of anxiety were examined. The results of 20 studies where online ACT was utilized for a variety of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and illness anxiety disorder. Researchers noted that these treatments significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety, concluding that ACT could be effectively administered through online platforms. The report also states that online ACT aims to reduce common barriers to therapy treatment, including geographical or place constraints, high costs, and perceived stigma.
Takeaway
If having a clearer mind and balanced lifestyle sounds appealing to you, it may be beneficial to try acceptance through ACT therapy. To begin getting effective and convenient help, reach out to a professional and ask for support today.
What is the struggle switch?
The struggle switch is a term coined by Dr. Russ Harris who teaches acceptance and commitment therapy. It refers to a tendency in human behavior to resist difficult emotions and unpleasant feelings (collectively called unwanted individual experiences or unwanted individual events).
What is cognitive fusion in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)?
Cognitive fusion refers to the experience that some people have when they become fused with their thoughts, allowing them to control their behavior and thus, their reality. This can cause psychological suffering and maladaptive behaviors.
How can I accept painful emotions and thoughts?
There are many strategies one can use to accept difficult feelings and unpleasant thoughts, including mindfulness strategies. Mindfulness-based approaches may consist of paying attention to these thoughts and feelings and observing them non-judgmentally.
What is the difference between cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy?
ACT is considered one of the third wave therapies under the umbrella of cognitive behavioral therapy. Traditional cognitive behavioral therapy differs fundamentally from acceptance and commitment therapy, though they may have common goals. In cognitive behavioral therapy, the therapist engages the client in psychological processes meant to identify and change negative thoughts. This is a core approach in Western psychology that often relies on problem-solving. ACT differs in that the focus is on accepting these unpleasant thoughts using an experiential approach rather than changing them. In addition, ACT encourages individuals to separate their thoughts from their behavior and choose to live based on their core values.
What is DBT in psychology?
DBT refers to dialectic behavioral therapy, another contemporary psychotherapy approach. It was originally developed to treat borderline personality disorder but is also used for treating depression, substance use disorders (formerly substance abuse), and eating disorders.
What are some CBT strategies?
There are numerous cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) strategies. Some of these include:
Cognitive restructuring
Journaling
Cognitive defusion
Behavioral activation
Relaxation techniques
Who can benefit from acceptance and commitment therapy?
Acceptance and commitment therapy is a contextual behavioral science approach suitable for a wide range of people and conditions. Some of these conditions include depressive symptoms, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, and obsessive compulsive disorder, for instance. There is empirical evidence to support the use of ACT as an effective treatment approach.
Someone who struggles with negative self-talk may benefit from ACT’s foundational relational frame theory. That is, ACT assumes that psychological suffering in the normal human mind is unnecessary and that people can learn to accept their thoughts and feelings without undue distress.
The World Health Organization has also approved acceptance and commitment therapy as an intervention for children experiencing chronic pain.
What are some challenges faced by this type of therapy?
As with most other therapeutic modalities, there may be some challenges and potential drawbacks to acceptance and commitment therapy. For example, people who aren’t used to “feeling their feelings” may struggle at the beginning of ACT sessions to face negative emotions. Moreover, acceptance and commitment training may require a large degree of self-awareness to be effective.
What are the premises of acceptance and commitment therapy?
According to the ACT literature, six core principles of acceptance and commitment therapy include:
A meaningful life occurs when one behaves in a valued direction, according to their core beliefs.
Cognitive defusion is necessary to avoid cognitive entanglement, or confusing one’s thoughts with one’s identity.
Mindful change occurs when we’re aware of the present moment, rather than focusing on the past or future.
Seeing oneself as a constant and stable observer of thoughts is psychologically healthy and can promote a healthy normality for everyday life. This is often referred to as the transcendent sense of self.
It’s important to accept one’s thoughts and feelings without being controlled by them or resisting them.
Being committed to valued behavior in the face of negative feelings can promote success and wellbeing.
Rational emotive therapy uses many of these same principles, though it is considered a second wave therapy.
Who are good candidates for acceptance and commitment therapy?
ACT has received empirical support from many randomized trials as well as a recent systematic review to treat a wide range of mental health challenges and conditions for people of many different backgrounds, including LGBTQ+ individuals. Generally, people who are open to ACT principles and experiential exercises that involve facing one’s feelings and who struggle with self-criticism, negative self-talk, and/or emotional regulation are often good candidates for acceptance and commitment therapy. To learn more about ACT, there are many books dedicated to the subject, including the Harbinger self help workbook entitled The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Skills Workbook: Cope With Emotional Pain, Connect with What Matters, and Transform Your Life.
- Previous Article
- Next Article