What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?

What Is Acceptance And Commitment Therapy?

A very brief overview of ACT and resources to learn more.

What is ACT?

The basic tenants of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) are in the name — acceptance and commitment.

You start by looking around at your situation and accepting it is for what it is. This is not to say that you will not work to change your situation, but that you need to give up any resistance to the idea that your situation shouldn’t be happening, or can’t be happening, or isn’t fair. Instead, allow yourself to process that it is happening, and investigate it non-judgmentally and with curiosity.

The next step is to commit to a solution-oriented focus — What’s next? What now? Using your personal values as a guide, you take committed action to improve your life.

We believe that ACT is a very powerful form of therapy that works well with ketamine treatments, TMS, nitrous oxide, stellate ganglion blocks, and any interventional treatment for mental health.

Why ACT?

Why you might use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy:

  • One of the fundamental approaches to therapy – a very good fundamental tool for your mental health
  • Evidence-based, with substantial research supporting meaningful improvements
  • Excellent for long-standing problems, such as treatment-resistant depression and refractory anxiety
  • Helpful for hard-to-treat substance use, abuse, and addiction
  • Helpful for long-standing trauma, PTSD, and grief
  • Particularly useful for other persistent conditions such as chronic pain

ACT may be useful for anyone interested in improving their mental health, and is particularly useful for those facing persistent or long-standing adversity.

Our recommendations for learning more

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy has many popular authors writing and speaking on this subject. Here are some accessible ways to bring ACT into your life, even if you don’t have a therapist that uses ACT in their practice.

We recommend anything by Russ Harris, but particularly The Happiness Trap. Harris also has an ACT book focused on dealing with grief or loss titled When Life Hits Hard. He also has free resources available on his website, thehappinesstrap.com.

We also recommend anything by Byron Katie, but particularly Loving What Is. Katie also has a podcast and free workbooks available for download on her website, thework.com.

Our recommendations for podcasts include Therapy in a Nutshell, which is very ACT-based, as well as the Daily Stoic Podcast. Stoicism is an ancient Greek school of philosophy that has had a real renaissance lately, and fits very well with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

About Us

Wells Medicine is a Houston-based practice designed to provide meaningful care for mental health. Providing targeted interventional treatments for Depression, Anxiety, OCD, PTSD and other conditions, with Ketamine Treatments, Stellate Ganglion Blocks, TMS, and Nitrous-Oxide Treatments. Focused on comprehensive care and integration with Psychiatry, Psychology, and Support Services. We are evidence-based, patient-focused and mission-driven.

The content here is for informational purposes and should not be relied upon for medical decisions. For the details of your specific medical conditions and treatments consult your doctors or other qualified healthcare professionals.

Related Posts