Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Traditional behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy are the roots of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), an action-focused method of psychotherapy. Clients learn to recognize that their deeper emotions are normal reactions to certain circumstances and shouldn’t stand in the way of them moving on in life rather than ignoring, denying, and struggling with them. With this comprehension, clients start to embrace their struggles and resolve to adjust their behavior as needed, regardless of what is happening in their lives or how they feel about it.
What To Expect:
You will learn to pay attention to the thoughts you have regarding traumatic experiences, troubled relationships, physical restrictions, and other issues while you work with a therapist. Then, you can decide if a situation calls for immediate action and change or whether it can or must be tolerated as it is as you learn to adopt new behavioral patterns that can transform the circumstance. The therapist can assist you in identifying what hasn’t worked for you in the past and in helping you stop repeating thought patterns and actions that could end up causing you more issues in the future. You can commit to giving up on battling your history and your emotions once you’ve addressed and
The goal of ACT is to increase and strengthen psychological flexibility. Emotional openness and the capacity to modify your ideas and behaviors so that they better reflect your beliefs and objectives are both examples of psychological flexibility.
The following six fundamental procedures encourage psychological flexibility:
1. Acceptance
Acceptance involves acknowledging and embracing the full range of your thoughts and emotions rather than trying to avoid, deny, or alter them.
2. Cognitive Defusion
You can lessen the negative consequences of disturbing thoughts and sensations by separating yourself from them and altering how you respond to them. Cognitive defusion techniques include singing a thought, singing the thought aloud, and identifying the automatic response you experience.
3. Being present
Being conscious in the present moment and observing your thoughts and feelings without passing judgment or attempting to change them is referred to as being present; this state can help to modify behavior.
4. Self as Context
The concept of “self as context” broadens our understanding of who we are and who we are not; it suggests that humans are more than just their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
5. Values
Values include deciding on personal ideas in various areas and making an effort to live by them. This contrasts with acts motivated by the need to avoid discomfort or fulfill other people’s expectations, for instance.
6. Committed Action
Committed action entails taking specific measures to implement adjustments that will be consistent with your values and
