THERAPIES
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
The goal of ACT is to accept what is outside of our “sphere of influence” or personal control, especially unwanted private experiences which include feelings, thoughts, and urges, and commit to productive actions that improve and enrich your life.
A general objective of ACT is to help individuals develop psychological flexibility – the ability to remain in contact with the present moment, and being able to adjust or persist in behavior while staying true to your personal values. This means,
Ψ Practicing a willing, open, and accepting approach to psychological experiences which reduces psychological barriers to changing behavior
Ψ Improved awareness of internal processes and external reality through mindfulness processes, thus allowing choices to better fit the situations you are in
Ψ Staying dedicated to developing and maintaining healthy and valuable behaviors
6 core principles of ACT:
1. Cognitive Defusion
Ψ Learning to perceive thoughts, images, memories and other cognitions in a nonjudgmental manner
Ψ Recognizing them as what they are: pieces of language, words, and pictures
2. Acceptance
Ψ Embracing unwanted or unpleasant emotions, thoughts, urges and so on
Ψ Letting them come and go without struggling with them or giving them too much attention
3. Contact with the Present Moment
Ψ Focusing on the present moment and fully engaging with what is happening
Ψ Doing so with openness, interest, and receptiveness
4. The Observing Self
Ψ Putting yourself in an observer’s point of view from your thoughts, feelings, and so on
Ψ Being able to experience that you are separate from your internal experiences and not defined by them
Ψ Consciously knowing that you are observing the experience, and not in the position of experiencing
5. Values
Ψ Understanding and recognizing meaningful core values and principles which are important in helping you lead a fulfilling life
6. Committed Action
Ψ Setting goals that are in line with personal values and beliefs
Ψ Engaging in behaviors that are effectively guided by personal values to achieve the goals
Ψ Practicing and committing to those behaviors
Each principle has its own methodology, practices, and metaphors. This means that a lot of effort and practice is needed (it just sounds simple!).
Effectiveness of Therapy
ACT is highly effective in managing depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, chronic pain, PTSD, anorexia, and even schizophrenia.
Did you know…
It was the first of a ‘third wave’ of psychotherapy that includes Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and so on. ‘Third wave’ therapies place a major emphasis on developing mindfulness skills
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) was developed based on Relational Frame Theory (RFT), which is an empirically-based account of human language and cognition. It is a behavioural theory proposing that communication and human cognition stem from our ability to recognise and draw relational links between stimuli and events in our environment. You can read more about RFT.