Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based treatment that helps clients alter negative repetitive patterns, defuse from overwhelming destructive behaviors, and create movement toward what is really important in their lives.
ACT uses acceptance and mindfulness skills, combined with behavior-change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility. The fundamental concept of ACT is that psychological suffering is caused by avoiding emotions and life experiences, which results in psychological rigidity. This can make it difficult to take the necessary steps to move toward what is important to a client.
ACT methods are at the core of my practice. The therapy can dramatically improve clients who are facing:
- excessive worry
- eating disorders
The Six Core Processes of ACT
The general goal of ACT is to increase psychological flexibility – the ability to contact the present moment more fully as a conscious human being, and to change or persist in behavior when doing so serves valued ends. Psychological flexibility is established through six core ACT processes. Each of these areas is conceptualized as a positive psychological skill:
- Cognitive Fusion
- Being Present
- Self as Context
- Committed Action
(From the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science)