Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
ACT stands for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and is a new way of understanding the human mind and a different approach to mental health. In contrast to mainstream censorship of negative thoughts and feelings as something that should be changed, ACT encourages acceptance of these as inherent human processes.
This innovative approach differs from traditional therapies by focusing on the relationship between the individual and their thoughts rather than the specific thoughts.
ACT Therapy Techniques
ACT is based on some theoretical assumptions, which focus on the concept of psychological flexibility. These principles are designed to assist people in pursuing their own personal growth while facing the challenges of life. The therapy combines acceptance and mindfulness processes alongside commitment and behavior-change processes.
Mindfulness: This is referred to as mindful awareness, where the focus is on the present moment without criticism. ACT employs acceptance-based techniques to allow thoughts and feelings to be acknowledged when they occur without getting caught up in them. Some strategies that can be applied to enhance mindfulness include meditation and body scanning.
Acceptance: This involves acknowledging the thoughts, feelings, and sensations, including including those that are negative. ACT helps people manage these experiences as events that happen in life and not as indicators of their incompetence.
Cognitive Defusion: These techniques are used to help people keep a distance between themselves and their thoughts. By recognizing that thoughts are just mental events, one learns how to make them have minimal control over their behavior. Some of these include labeling thoughts, learning to take the other person’s perspective, or using playful pictures in the mind.
Values Clarification: ACT focuses on values that define an individual and, hence, can contribute to the definition of existence. This is a process that revolves around determining what a person cherishes in life and coming up with personal objectives that are in harmony with those values.
Committed Action: This involves taking steps toward one’s goals, even in the face of challenges. ACT assists people in breaking through mental barriers, which can hinder a person from taking action towards his or her goals.
ACT Therapy: What to Expect
ACT therapy begins with the ACT therapist and a client identifying the client’s core values. Further sessions then aim at connecting those values with actionable steps.
- Reflecting on Progress: Reflecting on the previous week and positively reinforcing behaviors that were aligned with the particular person’s values.
- Identifying Obstacles: Observing counterproductive activities and efforts to identify factors that contribute to such decisions.
- Guided Implementation: The therapist will guide you as you learn how to implement these concepts in your daily life. They can show you how to implement acceptance and cognitive restructuring or assist you in cultivating a different concept of self that is separate from your emotions.
- Promoting Awareness: It can also involve exercises that promote non-judgmental awareness of thoughts, feelings, sensations, and memories that have been concealed for various reasons.
How ACT Therapy Works
ACT is a therapeutic intervention in the equal involvement of the client and the therapist. The therapist helps the client to:
Understand the ACT model: To have at least some grasp of what some of the central concepts are, and how they could be brought into one’s existence.
Practice mindfulness: Developing the skill or ability to observe thoughts and feelings without judgment.
Identify values: Decisions as to what it is right to live for, to feel worth living for, and what it is that human beings ought to strive for in life.
Engage in committed action: Taking steps toward a value-driven life, despite potential difficulties.
Develop psychological flexibility: Enhancing the ability to adapt to various situations and challenges.
This helps in the effectiveness of ACT therapy by promoting a positive and meaningful life that is aligned with the values of the people concerned.
Techniques Used in ACT
Mindfulness Exercises
In the application of ACT, the exercises are designed to foster acceptance of the here-and-now experiences without any judgment. These exercises can help people keep their focus on their thoughts and emotions without getting hooked on them and improve their general well-being.
Behavioral Interventions
Techniques used in ACT emphasize the role of behavior and how it is guided by values. Promotive strategies, including setting goals, exposure, and skills training, are employed to promote behaviors that align with valued life goals.
Experiential Exercises
Role plays and other practical assignments are constructed in such a way as to enroll emotional and cognitive processes associated with specific ACT concepts. Such exercises can indeed help individuals understand these concepts functionally and experientially.
Benefits of ACT Therapy
ACT is effective in treating mental health conditions, including:
- Anxiety disorders: Panic disorders, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorders
- Depression: Major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder
- Chronic pain: Control of pain and increasing the satisfaction of life
- Smoking and other dependencies: Recovery from substance dependence and designing a fulfilling life
- Marital and other interpersonal difficulties: Strengthening the quality of relationships with friends and family members
How effective is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT therapy is an effective method of treatment, which is why it can be implemented in treating a variety of mental disorders.
ACT has been described as a third-wave therapy. The term “third wave” treatment refers to a broad spectrum of psychotherapies that also includes:
- Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)
- Schema therapy
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
The approaches that third-wave behavioral therapies employ set them apart from CBT techniques, and these include the use of acceptance and mindfulness instead of the cognitive restructuring that is normally used in conventional CBT and involves changing or challenging negative thoughts and emotions.
Traditionally, third-wave interventions were considered suitable for those failing to respond to other treatments, such as CBT. However, it is now thought that third-wave therapy might be effective as a first- and second-line therapy for some people.
Recent theories suggest that attempting to avoid or change certain thoughts and feelings may be counterproductive, a perspective that ACT addresses differently than standard CBT.
Things to Consider Before Making a Decision
There is more evidence that ACT is indeed helpful in managing many types of conditions and it appears to work nearly as well as other therapies, including CBT. These observations imply that, perhaps the recipient of ACT can benefit from incorporating other treatments.
ACT has also been criticized for overlapping with other therapeutic approaches. Some CBT advocates have argued that ACT, and other third-wave therapies, are not that different from the second generation of therapies.
Is ACT Right for You?
ACT can be beneficial for individuals who are struggling with:
- Overwhelming thoughts and feelings
- Stress and anxiety handling and management
- Not being able to relate to themselves or others
- Therefore, it will entail making decisions that are in line with the laid down organizational standards.
- To live a life that has one’s own purpose and plan
Finding an ACT Therapist
Choose a professional ACT therapist now and embrace a better life full of mental health and happiness. Avoid getting drowned in your thoughts and emotions and learn how to accept them while taking useful actions.
Do you frequently find yourself overwhelmed with too many thoughts or feelings? ACT therapy can provide you with the tools for facing life’s challenges and experiencing a more meaningful life. This is an evidence-based approach to acceptance, commitment, and action that will help you develop effective strategies that will enable you to overcome life’s challenges and lead a healthier and happier life.
Are you ready to take the next step? Get in touch with an ACT therapist now. To easily reach us at Revelare Recovery in Atlanta, Georgia, call (888) 341-0244 to book a consultation.
