“The goal of ACT is to create a rich
and meaningful life, while accepting
the pain that inevitably goes with it.
‘ACT’ is a good abbreviation, because
this therapy is about taking effective
action guided by our deepest values.”
What is ACT?
Acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT (pronounced as the word “act”), is a type of mindfulness cognitive behavioral therapy that aims to expand our ability to tap into what matters most in our lives while strengthening our ability to effectively handle the pain that is fundamental to our human experience.
ACT can be used to treat anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders, chronic pain, substance abuse, and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as parenting stress, career stress, and emotional reactivity to stress.
ACT promotes and strengthens our capacity to engage our choice and self awareness. Increasing our awareness for choice in order to recognize if and how our choices are leading us in the direction of meaningful existence. ACT facilitates our awareness for the kind of person that we would like to be, the way we would ideally treat ourselves and others. It does this through expanding our willingness to confront the power that uncomfortable or painful thoughts and emotions have over us.
The ACT approach is that suffering is an expected and unavoidable element of human experience and that it is the struggle to control suffering through ineffective strategies that leads to increased-long term pain, worsening symptoms, psychological suffering, and unworkable damaging behaviors.
It is as if there are two versions of suffering - “necessary” suffering and “unnecessary” suffering. In necessary suffering we experience pain that is tied directly to the things that matter to us and therefore, when we are at our most effective, we are able to make space for that pain and carry on with doing what matters. When we are living through unnecessary suffering, the suffering intensifies due to a process known as “psychological inflexibility.”
Psychological inflexibility results when we fight against the unwanted content of our internal world. Content of our internal world includes: thoughts, feelings, sensations, urges, cravings, memories, prediction, rules, and judgements. The more we struggle to control, avoid, or get rid of these internal experiences the more psychologically inflexible we become. We dedicate more and more time to the struggle for control, spending our time engaged in trying to avoid or get rid of unwanted internal experience and less time engaging in living a rich, full, and meaningful life.
ACT is a process approach that aims to increase “psychological flexibility.”
Psychological flexibility results when we drop the struggle to control, avoid, or get rid of unwanted internal experiences. We move from a stance of fighting our unwanted internal experiences to one of acknowledgement and openness towards them. We reduce unworkable and damaging approaches to our internal experience and begin to take flexible workable actions towards what truly matters to us in life.
What matters in life is different for different people. For some it is being a better parent and living in the richness of that experience. For others it will be about being a more supportive partner, or for increasing our ability to deal with loss or other difficulties, or increase dedication to self-improvement, or to be a more committed artist, entrepreneur, or athlete. No matter what our aim in life, ACT is able to help us pursue what we value, the things that are closest to our heart. To be the kind of person that we would like to show up as in the world. To engage life in the ways that we would like to be and treat ourself and those around us well.
Act promotes psychological flexibility through 6 core processes:
Connecting with the present moment
This ACT process is about connecting to what is happening right here in this moment. Engaging in whatever you are doing or experiencing. It is a skill that allows us to make space from living in our past or feared future.
EXpansion
This ACT process is about building our capacity to notice and name unpleasant sensations and feelings. To make space for them and to allow them to exist. To drop our struggle and fight against them. Not because we like them to be there, but because we are relating to these feelings in a new way that reduces their power and influence over us.
Defusion
This ACT process is about relating to our thoughts in a new way in order to reduce the impact and power that they have over us. We become better at noticing and naming thoughts. We put distance between ourselves and harsh unhelpful thoughts. Thoughts that increase depression and anxiety. Thoughts and limiting beliefs that limit our ability to engage life and relationships in meaningful ways.
the observing self
This ACT process builds our ability to make the distinction between our “thinking self” and our “observing self.” The “observing self” can also be described as the “noticing self.” When we engage and build our connection with our “observing self” we strengthen our ability to relate to our difficult thoughts and feelings in ways that further decrease their power and increase our capacity for flexible perspective taking and for flexible behavioral responses.
Values
This ACT process is about knowing what is important to you in life. What kind of person you want to be. How you would like to treat those around you. What you want to stand for in life. Our personal values point the way when all else seems uncertain. Our values provide direction and motivation for action and for making meaningful changes in our life.
Committed action
This ACT practice is about taking action. Action that is guided by our values and moves us in the direction of a rich, full, and meaningful life. Flexible, values guided action that is committed and sustained no matter how many times we get derailed or discouraged.
Across 20 meta-analysis and 133 studies ACT has been shown to be efficacious across a broad range of mental health conditions - Journal of Contextual Behavioral ScienceVolume 18, October 2020, Pages 181-192