Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, often referred to simply as ACT, is a form of psychotherapy that is action-oriented. ACT has its roots in traditional behavioral therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT. ACT is a mindful form of mental health counseling. That is to say, in this type of psychotherapy, you are staying in the present moment- welcoming your thoughts and feelings with open arms.
In ACT, you learn how to deal with your uncomfortable emotions. When you do this, you move into a space of healing rather than wallowing in your negative thoughts and feelings. With the help of an acceptance and commitment therapist, you will learn coping skills that work for you in your unique situation. By learning these healthy coping mechanisms, you can handle the toughest challenges that life throws your way!
What can a ACT therapist Help With?
Empirical evidence has supported the usage of ACT therapy for the following mental health disorders:
Chronic pain
Stress regulation
Phobias (irrational fears)
The Basics of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
ACT therapy brings peace into your life. Simply, you learn how to focus on simply accepting life’s challenges and situations instead of trying to change the circumstances or over-analyze aspects of it. While this sounds simple, it takes practice to be able to achieve it.
This is a life-long skill that you can develop through mindfulness exercises. This encourages you to construct a new and even a high level of understanding with difficult experiences you may be going through. When you get to this mental place, you free yourself from obsessive thinking and intrusive thoughts. Getting to this space means that you have peace of mind and are in a state of healing.
What are the core processes of ACT psychotherapy?
Acceptance therapy has six core processes that your ACT therapist will use while guiding you through ACT counseling sessions.
The six pillars of ACT counseling are:
Acceptance - When you accept your situation, you are not letting yourself think negatively about it. It is an active choice that you make. You are permitting the existence of ‘negative’ events without trying to deny or alter them.
Cognitive defusion - These are the techniques that help you alter your thoughts and emotions. Acceptance and commitment counseling is not about placing you in a bubble so you can avoid the real world and its negative experiences. Instead, ACT counseling encourages you to face uncomfortable situations head-on so you can come out on the other side with your head held high.
Being present - Being present is exactly what it sounds like- you are aware of the present moment without holding any judgment of the experience. You can stay in the moment to experience what is happening without trying to change or predict what is to come.
Self as context - You are not just your experiences, thoughts, or feelings- there is much more to you. The concept of “self as context” instructs you that there is a self outside of your current situation and/or experiences.
Values - Your values are what you chose to put the work in to gain. Everyone has values that guide us on a day-to-day basis whether consciously or unconsciously. In ACT therapy, you are taught tools that will help you to live in accordance with your values.
Committed action - Your ACT counselor will encourage you to commit to actions that fulfill your long-term goals. Therefore, you will live a life that is in alignment with your values and core beliefs. You must understand how your current behavior impacts you so you know what positive changes you can make towards better behavior.
ACT is not unlike other forms of behavioral counseling. Instead of avoiding uncomfortable situations, ACT encourages you to accept your environment and what is happening around you.
How Does ACT Commitment Therapy Really Work?
Acceptance commitment counseling works by having you change your frame of mind. You learn how to accept life’s occurrences as they come your way. You do this without trying to change the situation or evaluate your circumstance. By regularly practicing mindfulness exercises, you learn how to build a better relationship with your current life situation, whether you are struggling in a relationship or having career troubles.
Acceptance:
Accept your emotions and feelings. Yes, even the ones who leave you feeling out of control. The key is to try to accept the experience in a mindful manner.
Direction:
Make a promise to yourself that you will stick with the positive approach that ACT counseling offers. This will help you push forward and move past any previous inclinations you had to rethink and over-analyze the past.
Action:
You are in charge. Make the decision to move forward in a positive direction. Choose ACT counseling techniques day and day again. Remember that, while ACT therapy is successful, it is something you must choose every day until it becomes second nature to you. By doing so, you can handle whatever life has to offer you.
Mindfulness in Action: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
What Role Does Mindfulness Play in Acceptance C Therapy?
Mindfulness is a core component of ACT counseling.
Mindfulness gives you the space and knowledge to ground yourself by closely paying attention to your thoughts, physical sensations, feelings, and external environment. Your ACT counselor will teach you how to employ mindfulness techniques and practice mindfulness exercises to develop a non-judgemental acceptance of your thoughts and emotions. That way, no matter what, you can remain grounded in the present moment- not feeling tempted to rehash the past, change your current situation, or predict your future.
One of the best aspects of mindfulness is that it does not need to be practiced in a specific place or at a specific time. That is to say, you do not do one mindfulness exercise a week in the comfort of your therapist’s office and then forget about it. You can practice mindfulness at work, school, your home, or even when you are spending precious time with friends and family members.
To practice mindfulness, you can bring your attention back to the present moment. Ground yourself by taking a deep breath and paying attention to the little details of your surroundings. What sounds are you hearing? What is that smell in the air? What activities are happening around you?
Being more mindful may sound like a small change but, when you go to practice it, you will realize that it may feel uncomfortable since you have never really done it before. As human beings in our busy contemporary world, we are taught to live on autopilot. It can feel like we are living like robots- trying to balance work with our families and busy social schedules. We are not taught to regularly check-in with ourselves and make sure we are properly practicing self-care to ensure that we are preventing burnout.
When you practice mindfulness on a regular basis, you will bring the following things into your life:
Peace
Purpose
Joy
Is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) effective?
Absolutely! There have been many studies that have proven the efficacy of ACT therapy. ACT is a powerful tool you can have in your arsenal to change your negative thoughts and start living a healthier, happier life.
When you work with an ACT acceptance therapist, you will learn how to be mindful of and how to accept your thoughts in relation to your core values.
Embrace Change, Attend ACT Therapy at Anchor Therapy
At Anchor Therapy, we have a team of highly-trained therapists who specialize in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Our ACT therapists will:
Teach you new ways of living with your mental disorder (e.g., if you struggle with anxiety, you will notice it for what it is, such as a cluttering of thoughts)
Open you up to experiencing your mental disorder where it is
Help you let go of efforts to control your mental disorder
How is an ACT therapy session structured at Anchor Therapy?
While every therapist is different, there are certain stages you can anticipate to go through in a standard ACT counseling session.
The first stage of any therapy session is building rapport. During your first session, referred to as the intake session at Anchor Therapy, you will talk to your ACT therapist about some of the challenges you are running into in your life. Here, you will talk about your mental health. This would also be a good time to discuss things you have tried in the past to help with your mental health, and what techniques have been successful and unsuccessful.
Next, you will dig deep with your ACT counselor to build awareness. Alongside the help of a professional mental health counselor, you will pinpoint the negative thoughts you are experiencing. These thoughts may be uncomfortable to discuss with friends or family members but, luckily, you can confide in a trained professional who is unbiased. Your therapist will be with you each step of the way as you work through painful memories, and make peace with your past.
You and your ACT therapist will also work to identify your core values. In other words, you will be examining what is important to you. How do you identify yourself? What does your ideal life look like?
When you have worked to identify recurring negative thought patterns and understand what you would like to prioritize in your life to achieve your dreams, you can finally work with your ACT therapist to foster change. This phase allows you to accept what you cannot alter in your life. Instead, you will focus on changing what is in your realm of control.
Once you have been in ACT counseling, your counselor will help you find ways to incorporate techniques learned in therapy into your everyday life. This will be a detailed plan so you can continue to progress in the long-run.
What techniques can Anchor Therapy’s ACT therapists teach me in counseling?
There are many helpful techniques our therapists can teach you in acceptance therapy! It will take some time to figure out what works for you. You can think of the first few therapy sessions as a time period of trial and error. You are actively working each day to figure out how you respond to different techniques.
Some ACT commitment therapy skills include:
Practicing mindfulness:
The term ‘mindfulness’ gets thrown around a lot, but what does it really mean? Mindfulness is the act of focusing solely on the present moment, or your current thoughts, emotions, actions, and physical sensations.
You may not have given mindfulness much consideration before looking into ACT counseling. Or, you may not even think that mindfulness matters much. But, with mindfulness, you realize that you can control your reaction to the situation rather than changing the situation itself.
For example, if you received bad news about a senior family member’s health status, you may realize that your mind starts racing with negative thoughts. Things are taking a turn for the worst. When was the last time I saw them? What if I do not get a chance to see them ever again?
Instead of letting these thoughts race around your mind, try to name the thoughts and sensations occurring in your body. When you put a name to your feelings and bodily sensations, you can learn how to work through the discomfort. Perhaps this means taking a deep breath or lying down.
Try to remain balanced:
ACT therapy helps you remember that your feelings are not facts. You are a human being who experiences emotions. Therefore, you can choose your response to them.
Your thoughts may trigger you to take specific actions, but it does not mean that you should follow through on that action, especially if it negatively impacts your mental, physical, and emotional health.
Identify your values and goals:
One of the major themes of therapy is identifying what is important to you and outlining your goals. Maybe volunteering in your community is what makes you feel at peace. Perhaps doing random acts of kindness is what makes you whole. Whatever it is, these values will give you hints on your goals and dreams.
When you live and lead a life of purpose, it can become easy to have a clear goal(s) in mind for yourself. Overall, you will have a good comprehension on what matters the most to you.
I’m ready to start ACT acceptance commitment therapy. What are the next steps?
WORKING WITH anchor therapy IS EASY
Fill out the contact form below.
One of our Intake Coordinators will respond to your client inquiry and match you with an ACT therapist on our team who suits your needs. From there, we will reach out to you via email with further information on how to schedule.
You can take a deep breath and take comfort in the fact that you are taking a positive step in the direction of your goals.
