Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a form of cognitive behavioural therapy. In actual fact it is known as one of the third wave cognitive behavioural therapies. Like traditional cognitive behaviour therapy it assumes that the psychological difficulties that we encounter as humans arise not solely from difficult events but how we relate to these events.

ACT is in part a mindfulness –based therapy that can help us disentangle from unhelpful thoughts and in so doing drop the struggle that we get into with these thoughts. It is built on the premise that the suffering we experience comes from how much we struggle with our thoughts. ACT also incorporates skills to help us live our lives more in accordance with the values that are important to us. In summary, ACT can help us lead more meaningful and effective lives.

ACT has a growing evidence base. It has been shown to be helpful can be helpful for a wide range of conditions including :

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Addictions
• Chronic pain

Please follow the link below to find out more information about the research evidence supporting acceptance and commitment therapy.

https://contextualscience.org/state_of_the_act_evidence