Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Clients learn to stop avoiding, denying, and struggling with their inner emotions and, instead, accept that these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations that should not prevent them from moving forward in their lives. With this understanding, clients begin to accept their hardships and commit to making changes in their behavior, regardless of what is going on in their lives and how they feel about it.

The theory behind ACT is that it is counterproductive to try to control painful emotions or psychological experiences; suppression of these feelings ultimately leads to more distress. ACT adopts the view that there are valid alternatives to trying to change the way you think, and these include mindful behavior, attention to personal values, and commitment to action.

ACT was developed in the 1980s by Dr. Steven C. Hayes, a psychologist who was quoted saying, “We as a culture seem to be dedicated to the idea that ‘negative’ human emotions need to be fixed, managed, or changed—not experienced as part of a whole life. We are treating our own lives as problems to be solved as if we can sort through our experiences for the ones we like and throw out the rest. Acceptance, mindfulness, and values are key psychological tools needed for that transformative shift”, which further outlines the foundations of this modality.