Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
December 19, 2024
What is ACT?
Derived from aspects of cognitive behavioural therapy, it is based on learning not to suppress negative emotions. A lot of people who are struggling will try to suppress and avoid their negative emotions such as shame, guilt and sadness.
ACTs purpose is to help people learn to accept those emotions and the experiences that have caused them. This can feel very challenging at first, but your therapist will help you to learn how to do this.
The next step of the ACT is the commitment part. This is when we have accepted the difficult feelings, and we then start to do things that we value in life such as not avoiding certain situations in fear of experiencing the difficult emotions. This could be having a conversation with your partner about something that has been bothering you, even if it may produce feelings of sadness.
The core components of ACT
There are six core principles that ACT is built on:
Acceptance
As outlined above this is when you stop suppressing or fighting the emotions that you are feeling.
Cognitive defusion
Sometimes when we get so overwhelmed with our thoughts we believe that they are facts, this is called cognitive fusion. Taking a moment to recognise that our thoughts are not facts and just thoughts is really important. This is called cognitive defusion.
Contact with the present moment
This means being in the moment or being in the now. Focusing on what is happening around you or in you at that point in time rather than thinking about the past or future. Mindfulness and grounding techniques can help with this.
The observing self
Also called the self as context. This is when we really start to think about what is happening within us. Such as noticing what physical sensations we are experiencing what thoughts are coming into our mind or what emotions we are experiencing.
Values
Thinking about our values is a way to reflect on what is important to us in our lives. For example, what sort of life would you like to live and what is it that motivates you?
Committed action
This is the final aspect of ACT, and it is when we start to do behaviours in line with our values and commit to this. This means we will start to move towards our values and build a life that we find to be fulfilling. For example, if we value our family this will entail taking action to spend more time with them e.g. scheduling a bi-weekly dinner.
Who is ACT suitable for?
ACT is effective in:
- Anxiety disorder
- Depression
- Substance use difficulties
- Pain management
It can also be used in conjunction with other therapies, most commonly cognitive behavioural therapy approaches.