Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Opening up, being present, doing what matters

Our mind is always going, narrating life, and the problem is we are not trained to discriminate when the mind is useful and when it is not. The ability to shift out of a fused problem-solving mind and into a descriptively engaged model of minds is helpful.

The goal of the therapy is to be present and open to experiences as they arise and to take effective, values-guided action to build a rich and meaningful life. Put simply, ACT focuses on opening up, being present, and doing what matters.

ACT emphasizes the inherent paradox of anxiety, which is that while attempting to avoid, suppress, or eliminate unwanted private experiences, these attempts often lead to an increase in the frequency and intensity of the experiences the person is trying to avoid.

Quite often people come to therapy because of the emotional wear and tear of the consequences of their avoidance. They hope to eliminate difficult thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations to achieve a reduction in symptoms, but their approach will only continue their suffering and keep it going. Human pain is normal; however, we often keep our suffering going by avoidance or moving away from our values. The more we try to "chase the concept of happiness", the more we are not living in the moment and we miss out on many wonderful moments.