Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, said as one word act) has been around for about 20 years, but research on its effectiveness has really exploded within the last 5 years. ACT has proven to be an extremely versatile treatment with a wide variety of problems. ACT falls within the cognitive behavioral tradition but offers new and innovative ways of dealing with problems that appear to affect different processes than other treatments.
By “Acceptance,” we mean that we look at how our struggles with problems can create more problems. It’s common for us to try to think our way out of suffering, but often that doesn’t work and can make things worse. ACT teaches us ways to work more effectively with pain. The “Commitment” part of ACT refers to a human tendency to become so lost in our difficulties that we lose touch with what’s meaningful to us or feel powerless to pursue those activities or relationships. In ACT, learning to set realistic goals in service of these values is an important part of treatment.
For More Information:
Check out the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science website for a look at the professional research associated with ACT, or simply search “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy” at a consumer website such as Powell’s Books or Amazon.com to see all the books that have been published about it.
For some audio files you might find helpful, click here.
