What is ACT?

Acceptance and commitment therapy is an existential, humanistic, mindfulness-based behavioral therapy. In every day language, the aim of ACT is to help people reduce psychological suffering and build rich, meaningful lives. It does this through helping us to:

• Learn new psychological skills to reduce the impact of difficult emotions and cognitions – so they can’t push us around, hold us back, or get in the way of life

• Clarify our values (how we want to treat ourselves, others, and the world around us) and use them to guide our actions and enhance our life

• Focus attention on what is important and engage fully in whatever activity we do

ACT is flexible and can be integrated into sessions without the need for specific protocols or homework. It is client-centered and stresses the importance of the relationship between therapist and client, which allows both to show up in the room as their authentic and imperfectly human selves. ACT normalizes the experience of human suffering and takes the position that thoughts and feelings are neither good nor bad.

 ACT is an evidence-based therapy, and there are over 1,000 clinical trials that demonstrate its efficacy in treating anxiety, depression, substance abuse, PTSD, among others.