How does ACT work?
At Mind The Way Psychotherapy and Counselling, we aim to empower our clients to lead fulfilling lives, even in the face of life’s challenges.
​
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a unique approach that combines mindfulness strategies with behavioral changes to help you achieve this. It focuses on six core processes that work together:
​
1. Accepting and embracing thoughts and feelings (rather than fighting against them)
2. Cognitive diffusion or learning to see thoughts just as thoughts, not as absolute truths or commands
3. Being present rather than focusing on the past or future
4. Self as context, which means compassionately viewing yourself as more than just your thoughts, feelings and experiences
5. Values clarification and identifying what is truly important to you in life
6. Committed action to steps that are guided by your values​
For more information on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the six core processes, download our ACT fact sheet.
​
​
What mental health concerns does it support?
​
-
Stress and anxiety
-
Depression
-
Trauma
-
OCD
-
Chronic pain
-
Eating disorders
-
Life transitions / adjustments
-
General wellbeing
ACT can be used to help clients address various mental health concerns, promoting psychological flexibility and overall wellbeing.
​
Stress and anxiety: ACT teaches individuals to accept their anxious thoughts and feelings rather than trying to eliminate them. Combined with mindfulness strategies, this acceptance can reduce the power these thoughts having over one's life and support better coping strategies.
​
Depression: by encouraging a focus on values and committed action, individuals can be supported to engage in meaningful activities even when experiencing depressive symptoms, and to foster a sense of purpose and direction in life.
​
Trauma: ACT can help individuals accept distressing memories and emotions without letting these experiences define them. It can also facilitate healing and empower individuals to live in alignment with their values despite their past traumas.
​
OCD: ACT provides tools to accept intrusive thoughts without engaging in compulsive behaviours. This reduces distress and helps individuals commit to actions that align with their values.
​
Chronic pain: By changing the relationship with pain through acceptance and mindfulness, individuals can reduce the suffering associated with chronic pain and improve their quality of life.
​
Eating disorders: ACT addresses the underlying thoughts and emotions that contribute to disordered eating behaviours. It also promotes committed actions to support health and wellbeing.
​
Life transitions and adjustments: ACT helps individuals navigate life transitions (such as career changes or relationship shifts) by focusing on acceptance and committed action, ensuring that their responses are aligned with their values and long-term goals.
What are the advantages of ACT?
By learning to accept what you cannot change and committing to actions that enrich your life, you can move toward a more fulfilling and purposeful existence.
​
Practical support: Our therapist will guide you through ACT using practical exercises and experiential learning. Through mindfulness practices you will learn various techniques to help you stay grounded and present. Examples include breathing exercises or meditation.
​
Sustainable changes: You’ll work on identifying your core values and setting goals that align with these values, to ensure that the changes you make are both meaningful and sustainable. Our therapist will use behavioural strategies to encourage you to take action in line with these values/goals, even when it's uncomfortable. Examples include practicing new skills or making lifestyle changes.
​​
​Increased psychological flexibility: Meaning the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, to balance competing demands and to maintain or shift perspectives as needed. The benefits of having increased psychological flexibility can include improved emotional regulation (experiencing emotions without being overwhelmed by them), enhanced problem solving, stronger resilience, better relationships and greater life satisfaction. ​
​
If you want to embrace life's challenges with greater ease, pursue your goals and values, and cultivate a deeper sense of wellbeing, contact our team or book directly below.​