Acceptance & Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) (which is pronounced as the word 'act', not initials) teaches you psychological skills to deal with your painful thoughts and feelings effectively – in such a way that they have much less impact and influence over you-helping you to clarify what is truly important and meaningful to you .

You then use this knowledge to guide, inspire and motivate your self to change your life for the better. Recently in the United States, the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) states that ACT is empirically supported as part of its National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices(NREPP).

It is based on the application of mindfulness and what are termed 'values'. Values are those things that you discover are important in giving life meaning. ACT derives its name from one of its basic statements: Accept those things that are beyond your direct and immediate personal control, and commit to action that improves and enriches your life.

ACT can help you clarify what is truly important and meaningful . These are the values, the things that are crucial to having a fulfilled and meaningful life. ACT helps you accept the difficulties that come with life. ACT is a form of mindfulness based therapy, showing that greater well-being can be attained by overcoming negative thoughts and feelings.

ACT helps people to look their character traits and behaviours to assist them in reducing how they try to avoid or control those very things that cause them pain and suffering. ACT also addresses their self-commitment to making changes, and what to do about it when they can't stick to their goals. ACT concentrates on 3 areas:

accept your reactions and be present
choose a valued path of action
then take action

Acceptance

Whether it be a situation you cannot control, a personality trait that is hard to change or an emotion that overwhelms, accepting it can allow you to move forward. Obsessing, worrying and playing things over and over keep you stuck. In this sense, asking why can leave you helpless. ACT invites you to accept the reality and work with what you have. Some ACT acceptance strategies that I use with my clients and patients are:

letting feelings or thoughts happen without the urge to act on them
observe their weaknesses but noting their strengths
allow themselves approval to not be good at everything
recognise difficulties in their lives without escaping from or avoiding them
understanding that they can be skilful in how they react, think and feel

Defusion

A facet of ACT is learning how to make psychologically heightened experiences less tense, in ACT this is known as 'defusion'. Defusion involves recognising thoughts and feelings for what they really are:

passing sensations
sometimes illogical or unreasonable things that we tell ourselves - instead of what we think
for example; like feelings that will never end and similar thought patterns

The aim of defusion is not to assist you avoid the experience, but to encourage it to be more manageable.

A few of the key defusion strategies that I use with people are:

observing what you are feeling and observing the physical sensations
find out how you are 'communicating' to or with yourself as you experience these feelings
to take notice and be mindful of the interpretation you make about your experience and asking yourself if they are based in reality

My clients and patients are shown how to identify the strands of negative self-talk and dialogue and check them with realistic ones and then learn to reassess their experience with their new discovery. The most remarkable thing about this approach is that although ACT does not aim to 'cure' people's issues directly, a wider range of people's challenges and difficulties whether they be health related or psychological pain can correct themselves through a natural process of change.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy uses metaphor, paradox,and mindfulness skills, along with a wide range of experiential exercises and values-guided behavioural interventions which I tailor to the client's needs. ACT is effective with a range of conditions that can include;

depression, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder),
workplace stress, relationship stress, chronic pain,
stress and pain and emotional issues of terminal cancers, other terminal and serious illness
anxiety, anger, PTSD(post traumatic stress disorder)
anorexia, tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse-including addiction to prescription medicines;
schizophrenia and identity crisis, people emerging from psychological collapse

I use ACT to assist people in the above areas as well as in many others situations and life experiences where ACT has been of great use to them enriching their own lives. ACT can be used in helping the client or patient with any concern that they have and some of my coaching clients prefer to use ACT as their coaching method of choice. The experience of having a session is for my clients very different to other therapeutic approaches that they have tried. They say they feel more involved with their own well-being.

They feel more in charge of the process. It can become fun and insightful. Clients and patients are not labelled with symptoms or particular problems but are encouraged how to be willing to accept the fearful and challenging experiences. It is no longer just about getting rid of bad feelings or getting over old psychological states. Its about facing those scary things that are within you and following that which makes you most fulfilled. It is not about training what you might think of as your 'normal' state of mind. It is about understanding patterns and moving into your life. Your 'normal' mind gets thrown by that. You learn how to be with your self.

ACT gets you in touch with the big picture of your life and why you are here and what you want your life to mean or stand for. These values inspire and guide you to create true change. ACT can help you to accept what is beyond your personal control and commit to actions that improve your life. Life can be rich, fulfilling and also painful, ACT shows you how to engage fully with this by learning psychological skills, that can give you the ability to live the life you want, full with the goals and values that you know to be best for your well-being and contentment.

Individual Sessions

If you would like to know more please contact me in the 'Consult with Christopher' section of my website, and you can find out about fees, appointments and various way of having a session.