What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and how can it help me?
What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)?
Have you ever felt like your thoughts and emotions are getting in the way of living the life you want? Maybe anxiety keeps you from doing things you care about, or self-doubt holds you back from meaningful relationships. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an approach designed to help you navigate these challenges by shifting how you relate to your thoughts and emotions. Instead of fighting against them or trying to control them, ACT teaches you how to make room for your thoughts and feelings to be as they are while still taking actions that bring you closer to what is important to you.
The key goal of ACT is psychological flexibility—the ability to stay present in the moment, allow your thoughts and feelings without struggling with them, and take meaningful steps toward the life you want. Rather than getting caught up in unhelpful thoughts or in doing things to avoid discomfort, ACT helps you cultivate resilience and make more intentional choices in life.
The Six Core Skills of ACT
ACT is built on six essential processes:
Cognitive Defusion – Creating distance from our thoughts. We learn to see thoughts for what they are - internal words and pictures - and to use them when they're helpful, and "unhook" from them when they're not.
Acceptance – Making space for uncomfortable internal experiences (sensations, thoughts, urges, feelings etc) rather than avoiding them.
Flexible Attention – Being able to direct out attention on purpose, rather than being on a kind of psychological "autopilot".
Self-as-Context – Seeing yourself as more than your thoughts and emotions, and as more than any one "story" of yourself.
Values – Identifying how you most want to show up in life: what you most want to do, and how you want to do it.
Committed Action – Taking steps toward what matters, even when it’s hard.
Strengthening Your Psychological Flexibility
Think of psychological flexibility like a muscle—it needs consistent practice to grow stronger. Every time you choose to acknowledge your emotions rather than avoid them, or take a step toward your values despite discomfort, you’re building your psychological flexibility muscle. With time and effort, you’ll find it easier to navigate life’s challenges while staying focused on what matters most to you.
How can I start using ACT skills?
Here are some simple ways to start using ACT skills today:
1) Ask yourself, “is what I am doing right now moving me towards the kind of person I want to be, or moving away?”
This simple question can have the profound effect of orienting you toward your values, and away from default reactivity like being fused with out thoughts or avoiding uncomfortable feelings.
2) Next time you notice yourself avoiding an uncomfortable feeling, see if you can allow it to be as it is. Drop the struggle with it. Bring active curiosity to it: what is it like? is it moving or staying still? notice how this leads to more freedom in terms of what you do next.
How ACT Can Support You
ACT has been widely used to help people struggling with anxiety, OCD, self-doubt, and other emotional challenges. If you’re feeling stuck and unsure of how to move forward, therapy can be a powerful way to build the skills that support your growth.
I’d love to help you on this journey. If you’re ready to explore how ACT can make a difference in your life, reach out today for a free consultation call!
