Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Build psychological flexibility by accepting your inner experience and committing to a values-driven life.
What Is ACT?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a modern, evidence-based approach to psychotherapy that helps people reduce suffering and live a fuller, more meaningful life. ACT encourages individuals to become more open to their internal experiences—thoughts, emotions, and sensations—rather than fighting or avoiding them.
Instead of focusing on eliminating distress, ACT aims to increase psychological flexibility. This means learning to respond to life’s challenges with openness, awareness, and actions that align with your values.
ACT is grounded in six core processes. Together, these form a powerful framework for personal growth and emotional resilience.
The Six Core Processes of ACT
1. Awareness
ACT starts with becoming more aware of the present moment. Through mindfulness practices, you learn how to pay attention to what’s happening here and now. This awareness helps you recognize how much time your mind spends planning, worrying, or replaying the past. While these mental habits are natural, they can also lead you away from the life you want to live.
2. Acceptance
Acceptance involves creating space for whatever thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations are present—without judgment or resistance. Acceptance doesn’t mean you have to enjoy what you’re feeling. It simply means you’re willing to allow your experience to be what it is, instead of fighting it.
3. Defusion
Defusion helps you step back from your thoughts and see them for what they are—just thoughts. Instead of treating every thought as an absolute truth, ACT teaches you to observe the process of thinking itself. This can reduce the power that unhelpful thoughts have over your behavior. Mindfulness often plays a key role in developing this skill.
4. Self as Context
This process teaches you that you are more than your thoughts, feelings, or roles. You are the observer of your experiences—the part of you that notices what’s happening without getting lost in it. This sense of “self as context” helps create stability, especially during emotional or stressful moments.
5. Values
One of ACT’s most empowering elements is its focus on values. Values are the deeply held qualities that matter most to you—such as connection, creativity, honesty, or service. Unlike goals, which can be achieved, values are ongoing directions you continue to move toward. Identifying your values can help you make more intentional choices and live with greater purpose.
6. Committed Action
Once you know your values, ACT supports you in taking meaningful steps in that direction. Committed action means doing what matters to you, even when discomfort or anxiety show up along the way. These actions may be small or big, but each one brings you closer to the life you want to live.
Ready to Explore ACT?
If you’re interested in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and want to learn more about how it could support your growth, we’d love to talk with you.
Schedule a consultation today to take the first step toward a life guided by clarity, purpose, and psychological flexibility.