What Is Acceptance & Commitment Therapy?

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is one of the therapies we use at Footprints to Recovery. It’s a psychotherapy developed by Steven Hayes, PhD. in the 1980s to promote positive behavior change. ACT draws on aspects of cognitive behavioral therapy and clinical behavior analysis but has a significant mindfulness component.

In ACT therapy, you’re encouraged to accept difficult thoughts and feelings instead of trying to avoid them, change them, or push them away. The ACT principles teach you to just notice these occurrences as thoughts, separate from yourself. ACT also helps you identify your core values and incorporate them into all aspects of life. The goals of ACT are to decrease psychological suffering, encourage “psychological flexibility,” and move toward a meaningful life.

How Does Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Work?

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) suggests that many of life’s challenges stem from FEAR, an acronym that represents key psychological barriers:

Cognitive fusion – This occurs when you become so entangled with your thoughts that you can’t distinguish them from yourself. Cognitive fusion feels rigid, as if your thoughts completely dictate your actions. You may see your thoughts as absolute facts, even without evidence to support them, leading to unhealthy thinking patterns.
Evaluation – You may find yourself reflecting on your experiences, often categorizing your thoughts and feelings as either “good” or “bad.” For instance, you might perceive urges to drink or use drugs as inherently “bad.”
Avoidance — Attempts to suppress or numb negative thoughts and emotions rather than addressing them. For instance, turning to alcohol or drugs to cope with challenging feelings is a common example of avoidance.
Reason-giving – The justifications you provide for why you can’t change a particular behavior. For example, you might say, “I can’t stop drinking because my life is too difficult to handle without alcohol.”

A key component of acceptance and commitment therapy involves identifying unhelpful patterns of behavior. Your therapist might use tools like cards or worksheets to help you recognize moments when you’re operating from FEAR.

The next step in ACT focuses on equipping you with healthier strategies to navigate challenging thoughts and emotions. It also helps you uncover your core values and set meaningful goals to guide your life in a more fulfilling direction. ACT does this through six core principles:

Acceptance
Cognitive Defusion
Being Present
Values
Committed Action

#1 Acceptance

You’ll learn to accept your feelings and emotions without judgement. This process involves some mindfulness training. Your therapist will teach you how to just notice thoughts and feelings as they arise instead of getting “hooked” by them and creating a story around them. You won’t judge a thought or feeling as good or bad, you’ll only acknowledge that it’s a thought or feeling you’re having. If uncomfortable emotions arise, you’ll allow yourself to feel them instead of trying to push them away or numb.

#2 Cognitive Defusion

Cognitive defusion is a way of creating space between yourself and your thoughts. Your therapist will teach you specific techniques to do so. A handful of examples:

Giving a physical shape, texture, or size to a thought.
Thanking your mind for producing this interesting thought.
Labeling a thought: “I am having a thought right now that I am a bad person.”
Repeating a thought out loud until it becomes just a sound.

These types of exercises can decrease your attachment to your thoughts and make them feel less powerful.

#3 Being Present

Being present is a key component of ACT. By being present in your current experience, you can slow down the hamster wheel of unhelpful ruminations that keep you stuck in the past or worrying about the future. Your therapist will teach you mindfulness exercises to help you do this, such as getting in touch with all of your senses or describing your internal experience in a non-judgmental way.

#4 Self as Context

Self as context is a way to be present in the now. It’s the idea of “observing self.” You’ll learn that you are not your thoughts, feelings, or experiences. You’re the core where they are produced. ACT will teach you to be aware of thoughts and private experiences without getting attached or invested in them.

#5 Values

Acceptance and commitment therapy helps you identify your core values and use these to guide central parts of your life like spirituality, family, and career. Your therapist will help you decipher if your values are coming from your true self or based on “should’s,” past influences, or outside expectations.

#6 Committed Action

You’ll determine specific goals you’d like to achieve and the psychological roadblocks that are getting in the way. These goals will be in line with the values you’ve identified. You’ll use the other ACT processes to help you work toward these goals, such as acceptance and cognitive defusion.

Acceptance and commitment therapy can be used across several therapy sessions or as a brief therapy over six 30-minute sessions, known as FACT: Focused Acceptance & Commitment Therapy.

How ACT Therapy Can Help In Addiction Recovery?

One area where acceptance and commitment Therapy (ACT) is particularly helpful is in addiction recovery. This is because ACT focuses on developing skills to handle uncomfortable thoughts, emotions, and urges without turning to harmful coping mechanisms like substance abuse.

Through the use of tools such as cards or worksheets, therapists can help individuals recognize moments when they are operating from a place of fear rather than their core values. By understanding these patterns, individuals can break free from the cycle of addiction and make healthier choices.

In addition to addressing addictive behaviors, ACT also helps individuals identify their core values and set meaningful goals that align with those values. This allows for a sense of purpose and direction in life, which can be crucial in preventing relapse. By focusing on the present moment and being mindful of their thoughts and feelings, individuals can develop a greater sense of self-awareness and make conscious decisions that align with their values.

ACT also emphasizes the importance of acceptance, as fighting against uncomfortable emotions or experiences often leads to further suffering. Instead, individuals are encouraged to accept these difficult thoughts and feelings as a normal part of life, allowing them to be more compassionate towards themselves and others.

Looking for Help with Addiction?

If you’re struggling with addiction and mental health disorders, call us for a free, confidential consultation. We use types of therapies like ACT that are evidence-based and help you develop healthier coping skills for long-term recovery.