Acceptance & Commitment Therapy

What is ACT?

Acceptance and commitment therapy, usually called ACT and said like the word "act," helps people stop fighting with painful thoughts and feelings so they can put their energy into what matters to them. It was developed by psychologist Steven Hayes and grew out of behavioral therapy.

Many people spend years trying to make anxiety, sadness or intrusive thoughts go away. ACT starts from a different place. Those experiences are part of being human. The problem is how much of life gets organized around avoiding them.

The core ideas

• Acceptance. Making room for uncomfortable feelings instead of pushing them away.

• Defusion. Seeing a thought as a thought, not an order or a fact. "I'm having the thought that I'll fail" lands differently than "I'll fail."

• Present moment. Paying attention to what's happening now.

• Self as context. Noticing that you are more than any single thought or feeling.

• Values. Getting clear on what you care about most.

• Committed action. Taking steps toward those values, even when it's uncomfortable.

Who it helps

Research supports ACT for anxiety, depression, chronic pain, OCD and stress, and it's often a good fit for people with long-term conditions where symptoms may not fully go away. A review in the medical literature summarizes the evidence.

ACT at Sanare

Values only matter if they turn into action, and action happens out in the world. Sanare clinicians help clients name what they care about, then go do it together. If someone values being a good uncle but anxiety has kept him from family dinners for a year, the work might start with a short visit, planned and practiced, with his clinician nearby.

We often combine ACT with exposure therapy and CBT, depending on what the client needs.

ACT in Denver

Sanare works with adults across the Denver and Boulder metro. Contact us or call 303.476.1974.