Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a mindfulness-based behavioral therapy which focuses not on elimination or replacement of difficult thoughts, emotions, and experiences, but rather changing one’s relationships with them. ACT is a non-pathologizing model which understands pain as an inevitability of life. ACT conceptualizes that accepting this pain, instead of struggling, avoiding, or banning it, allows us to better access our energy, skills, and values in order to live a rich and meaningful life. At its core, this approach is grounded in helping you find acceptance in the present moment. ACT refers to this as psychological flexibility.
​A growing body of research suggests that ACT may be beneficial for:
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Anxiety Disorders
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Depression
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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
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Eating Disorders
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Substance Use / Addictions
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Chronic Pain
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Personality Disorders
In session with an ACT therapist, you may explore and practice mindfulness, acceptance, awareness and defusion of sensation, thought, emotion. You may do some values-based work to determine what truly matters to you and begin to explore how to take action toward those things. Rather than focusing solely on reducing symptoms, ACT therapists aim to help their clients get unstuck, get out of their heads and fully engaged in their lives instead. If you feel like you’ve tried everything there is to try and yet you continue to suffer, ACT may be especially helpful for you.