Acceptance and Committment Therapy (ACT)

ACT is a treatment approach which takes the position that personal suffering stems from our attempts to avoid the experience of emotional pain, rather than from the experience of that emotional pain itself. The things we want to avoid might include thoughts, feelings, sensations and memories that cause us distress. And usually, we manage to avoid these experiences in the short term. But in the long term our attempts at avoidance are often unhelpful or ineffective. For example, alcohol use is a common avoidance strategy, which helps us feel better in the short term, but usually has a very destructive impact on our lives over the long term.

ACT therefore uses exercises related to the way we think and behave to support clients in becoming more in touch with their 'here and now'. By using mindfulness strategies to take some distance from their thoughts and feelings, clients are supported in taking committed action, guided by their core values, in order to create a fulfilled and meaningful life. 

The goal of ACT is therefore to support people in developing emotional flexibility, and a willingness to experience their distress rather than avoid it, while staying focussed on finding meaning-filled and valued ways of living their lives.

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