Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
A Comprehensive Approach

The Essence of ACT

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) gets its name from its core messages: learn to cultivate acceptance for what is out of your personal control, and dedicate your focus on committing to attainable and mindful actions that are truly in line with your values. The method incorporates acceptance strategies, mindfulness techniques, and a wide range of behavioral approaches, making it an efficient and long-lasting method for personal growth and psychological resilience.

The Nature of Thoughts and Responses

We generally avoid not only harmful or unpleasant situations but also thoughts, feelings, and memories associated with discomfort. This "experiential avoidance" significantly contributes to sadness, anxiety, pain, depression. This is why ACT addresses one's underlying, unconscious "auto-programs" to create sustainable change.

Every day, thousands of thoughts flood our minds. In addition we are influenced by our habitual responses to experiences - from relationship challenges to work difficulties. As a result of these experiences, one has a constant influx of new thoughts, which are usually sustained by habitual reactions. As a person reaches the age of 35, a subconscious mental and reactionary "template" has been established. Many of these automated emotional responses are also unconscious, negative, and limiting.

Energy Flows Where Attention Goes

With ACT, individuals learn to discern moments when they should focus their thoughts constructively from times when they can neutrally distance themselves from the endless flow of inner 'noise' and chatter. This method helps conserve energy and directs it toward beneficial activities aligned with personal values and goals. The expression "Where Attention Goes, Energy Flows" encapsulates this principle.

ACT vs. Conventional CBT

ACT outperforms many conventional forms of therapy, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The starting point for both ACT and other forms of CBT is that behaviors are learned and can thereby be re-learned. The human ability to use language and thinking can create suffering and mental illness. Likewise, it can also be the foundation for well-being and mental stability.

Rather than focusing on changing specific thoughts and feelings, ACT develops mental flexibility and resilience. With the use of practical tools, individuals learn to adopt a more detached approach to their thoughts, feelings, bodily reactions, and memories, regardless of their content.

Mindfulness and Behavioral Techniques for Lasting (Neuroplastic) Change

Mindfulness skills help manage painful and limiting thoughts and feelings, reducing their impact and influence. The integration of mindfulness and behavioral techniques helps clients achieve lasting changes by gradually facing and engaging with situations they have been avoiding, thus reducing avoidance behaviors and increasing psychological flexibility.

Evidence indicates that mindfulness practice is linked to neuroplastic changes in several brain regions, working synergistically to enhance self-regulation. In recent years, psychotherapists have turned to mindfulness meditation as an important element in the treatment of a number of problems, such as; depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, chronic pain, couples’ conflicts, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and more.

How ACT Sessions Work