You may have heard the term acceptance and commitment therapy. And you may even know a little bit about what it entails. But perhaps most importantly, you might like to know who it’s for. In other words, what mental health issues is it most successful in treating? Because Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is an action-based therapy that stems from cognitive behavioral therapy, it’s very helpful in breaking bad habits and addictions. Its main goal is to help patients accept their feelings and learn to live their best lives in spite of them. But there is a bit more to it than that.

What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy? 

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is defined by Contextual Science as “a unique empirically based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies, together with commitment and behavior change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility.” What this means in a nutshell is that patients learn to accept their deep emotions as correct responses instead of denying them and pushing them down. Many situations cause deep-rooted feelings that sometimes surface in familiar moments. Or the feelings may be manifesting themselves in detrimental ways in someone’s day-to-day life. Either way, ACT helps patients come to terms with the feelings and discover ways to move forward anyway.

What is ACT used for?

The big question here is who ACT helps most. And this type of therapy is so effective in helping patients change their bad habits that it’s effective for a number of disorders. It has been used to successfully treat depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance abuse, and even psychosis. In the instance of anxiety, the therapy can be used to treat all types of stress, including workplace anxiety, social anxiety, test anxiety, and generalized anxiety disorder. It helps by releasing the patient from the obligation of trying to control the feelings that he or she perhaps cannot shake. It teaches them to find a healthy way to engage in actions to move them toward their goals and life values.

How is ACT implemented?

When a therapist decides that ACT might be the best therapy method for a patient, he or she will start by engaging the patient in some specific conversations. These conversations will give you the opportunity to hear the way you speak to yourself and process certain issues. This will help you to understand any feelings you have that seem to be consistent. They will then give you the tools to make decisions about these feelings and any behavioral changes you might need to make. The therapy should help you accept your past and the emotions it involves and start practicing more positive behaviors.

Why does ACT work?

Some professionals believe that acceptance is what is missing from traditional behavior therapy. The basic theory is that changing one’s self-talk or attitude about the feelings they can’t control takes some of the pressure off of them. Other approaches may try to change patients’ feelings, which can add stress to already stressful situations. ACT on the other hand, moves them toward accepting these feelings and not judging themselves for them. It also helps them to understand that they can perform certain tasks and go on living regardless of how they feel. A good example of this is a person who experiences severe test anxiety. That person may miss out on a great deal of opportunity because he or she refuses to finish college or workplace requirements.  But a therapist using ACT can give them tools to take action anyway. They can give them the means to do what they need to do without letting their emotions get the better of them.