Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, is a mindfulness- and acceptance-based behavioral therapy. The overarching goal is to promote behavior that aligns with one's values (who or what matters) while remaining in the present moment and accepting difficult experiences (internal -- thoughts, emotions -- or external). The approach involves developing flexibility in thinking, feeling, and behaving. Further, clarification of one's values is an important component of ACT, including who and what are important, as well as what qualities a person wants to embody. 

ACT has over 300 randomized-controlled trials supporting its effectiveness across a number of samples, behaviors, symptoms, and processes. The approach is transdiagnostic -- designed to work with all human beings and to address human suffering. At the core of ACT is the belief that humans can pursue what matters even in the presence of great difficulty. ACT involves relating to this difficulty differently -- with openness and awareness -- in service of pursuing one's values. The goal is not to eliminate unpleasant symptoms, thoughts, or emotions, but to live with these experiences as we create lives of meaning and vitality. 

Below, see Jenna Adamowicz lead a presentation about ACT at the NAMI Johnson County's Lunch & Learn series.