Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) - A Mindfulness-Based Behavioral Therapy

Introduction

Acceptance and commitment therapy is a well-established psychotherapy that helps individuals with various physical and mental illnesses. The basic principle of ACT is to help individuals who experience various unpleasant emotions such as grief, frustration, discomfort, sickness, and nervousness. The therapeutic goal is to assist individuals in facing these unpleasant feelings with psychological flexibility instead of taking steps to hide those feelings.

What Is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?

A kind of psychotherapy associated with total mental adaptability and adjustment is called acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). The name itself implies that ACT has two fundamental counterparts:

• Acceptance: Accepting one's suffering, shortcomings, and illnesses.

• Commitment: Making positive changes and living a life with meaning.

The idea behind ACT therapy is to support individuals in embracing their challenges and moving past negative thoughts. Because ACT enables humans to cultivate positive thoughts and maintain focus on target actions, numerous professionals equate it with being mindful and cognitive restructuring. ACT's main objective is to equip participants with the skills to cope with upsetting ideas and feelings and develop a deep understanding of what is most important to them.

What Are the Core Processes of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?

The following are six essential ACT processes:

1. Acceptance.

2. Cognitive disorientation.

3. Being in the moment.

4. Self as context.

5. Principles.

6. Commitment to action.

1. Acceptance: It entails accepting feelings in their entirety and not attempting to alter them. For instance, individuals learn to admit that their obsessive thoughts are painful and unreasonable and to accept them as facts in their minds. ACT therapy enables them to accept ideas without trying to control or manipulate them and consciously replace unpleasant emotions with upbeat ones.

In ACT therapy, certain techniques are employed to teach individuals acceptance, such as:

• Meditation on self-compassion.

• Exposure to emotions.

• Putting feelings or ideas into physical form.

• Kind words of wisdom.

• Metaphors and hands-on activities.

2. Cognitive Disorientation: Cognitive disorientation modifies the impact of thinking. This part of ACT lessens the influence of stress-inducing, detrimental, and restrictive thoughts. For instance, ACT facilitators might advise their clients to practice techniques like naming, labeling, and speaking ideas aloud until they appear to be insignificant.

3. Being in the Moment: Individuals are encouraged by ACT therapy to keep awareness of their environment and develop the ability to divert their focus from their innermost feelings and thoughts. This entails making an intentional effort to pay attention to the environment around them at that precise moment.

4. Self as Context: The concept of the "self as context" holds that a person is more than just the accumulation of experiences, ideas, and feelings. One can manage the upsurge of emotions more skillfully when one is conscious of one's experiences and is able to view them objectively.

5. Values: One essential element of ACT is the application of one's own values and judgment. Values include establishing personal standards for various areas of life and making an effort to live by them.

6. Commitment to Action: Taking proactive measures to implement changes that will support the values and bring about beneficial transformation is known as committed action. Establishing goals, being exposed to challenging thoughts or situations, and developing new skills may all be part of this.

When Can Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Be Used?

Numerous physical and mental illnesses can be treated with ACT. Among them are:

• Disorders related to anxiety.

• Depression.

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (an illness that interferes with day-to-day functioning by causing unwanted thoughts (compulsions) and repetitive actions (obsessions)).

• Psychosis (a group of mental health symptoms indicating a partial disconnection from reality).

• Eating disorders (linked to significant changes in eating habits as well as associated feelings and thoughts).

• Disorders related to substance use.

• Stress at work.

• Persistent pain.

• Phobias (an anxiety disorder characterized by an extreme and ongoing fear of a thing or circumstance).

What Are the Benefits of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?

The effect that acceptance and commitment therapy have on psychological flexibility is one of its main advantages. The capacity to accept individuals' thoughts and feelings when they are helpful and to deny them when they are not helpful is known as psychological flexibility. This enables one to live a meaningful life and respond to inner feelings through awareness. It also helps one avoid making snap decisions or acting rashly in the moment.

Developing psychological flexibility can help one cope better with symptoms such as depression or anxiety. Often, a rise in psychological flexibility will result in a substantial decrease in those symptoms. ACT's main advantage is that it enables people to develop a new perspective on their inner experiences. ACT interventions, which emphasize mindfulness and self-awareness can be particularly advantageous for those suffering from anxiety and depression. Acceptance and commitment therapy can be beneficial in treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma survivors.

What to Anticipate During ACT Therapy?

The main aim of ACT therapy in its initial sessions is to assist individuals in defining their values. The goal of the sessions that follow is to assist individuals in connecting with and implementing those values in their everyday lives.

An ACT therapy session typically entails the following:

• Looking over last week’s events and recognizing and appreciating the behaviors that are aligned with the individual’s values.

• Assessing the actions that are not compatible with values and identifying the reason for those actions.

• Utilizing the core processes of acceptance and commitment therapy to progress in the direction of values.

The psychotherapist will guide individuals in practicing acceptance, cognitive diffusion, and other processes involved in ACT. During the session, the psychotherapist may also include mindfulness exercises to center oneself by focusing on the thoughts, feelings, and external surroundings in the present moment. Practicing mindfulness provides numerous benefits and it acts as an important component of ACT. Numerous individuals discover that engaging in mindfulness practices has restored their sense of contentment, purpose, and serenity.

Conclusion

Acceptance and commitment therapy helps individuals overcome their unpleasant emotions and concentrate on recuperation rather than staying in the past negative experiences. A licensed psychotherapist would help in tailoring specific coping mechanisms that will suit the individual needs. Following those coping mechanisms and core processes of ACT helps them to successfully handle their unpleasant feelings and emotions and live their lives meaningfully.