Acceptance and Commitment Therapy From the Team at Psychotherapy Partners
Acceptance and commitment therapy, often referred to as ACT, is designed to help individuals come to terms with their own emotions and the environment around them. The goal of this process is to achieve greater psychological flexibility for patients and to provide them with the tools needed for achieving behavior change As a result it reduces guilt and anxiety-related issues.
At Psychotherapy Partners, Emily Everhart specialize in providing acceptance and commitment therapy options for our clients. Both therapists have extensive experience and training in ACT and well-versed in the most practical ways to implement this therapy option for our patients.
Understanding ACT
ACT is usually paired with therapies focused on mindfulness and is designed to increase the flexibility as well as tolerance for patients suffering from stress, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), addiction and depression. By developing greater flexibility on an emotional and psychological level, patients can generally Mindfulness offers a framework for implementing the skills learned through ACT and a foundation for radical acceptance. It is an important principle in this type of therapy.
Core Processes of ACT
According to the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, ACT is based on six core processes:
Embracing radical acceptance of the environments and the situations in which patients find themselves. It will provide a measure of calm in a stressful world.
Creating a sense of self will allow patients to put events and also situations into context and to achieve a degree of perspective on their own emotional and psychological processes.
Being present in the moment will allow patients to experience the world around them more directly. And also feel more centered and grounded in dealing with everyday challenges. This can also encourage a non-judgmental approach to many of the situations our patients face every day.
Establishing values will provide an ethical and psychological framework for dealing with situations and managing emotional responses as they occur. This is especially useful for stress reduction and achieving the desired behavior changes in the context of mindfulness.
Using cognitive defusion also known as deliteralization technique. It help patients in changing patterns of behavior and change their responses to stress and negative stimuli. This requires careful and objective analysis of thoughts and ideations at the time they occur. And the defusing of the repetitive thoughts that can cause emotional and psychological distress.
Taking committed action is one of the final steps in the ACT process. It provides a way to put values into practice in everyday life. This will help in recognizing and also managing feelings of guilt or shame. It also provide added support for patients dealing with these emotional issues.
All of these processes designed to work together to create a positive environment for change and growth for our patients.
Moving Away From Old Patterns of Judgment and Guilt
One of the most important principles of ACT is the idea that trying to suppress or to control painful emotions like guilt or shame. It is counterproductive at best and dangerous at worst. By accepting these feelings and changing the behaviors that associated with them, ACT allows patients to move beyond their established patterns of behavior and to change their responses to emotional triggers and cues. This can help patients to achieve behavior changes. And also increases their psychological flexibility to a considerable degree.
Is ACT Right for You?
ACT can provide added help for patients who may experience psychological or emotional responses to triggers and stimuli in the outside environment. It is also useful in dealing with OCD, post-traumatic stress disorders, depression and issues with stress and anxiety. By taking a non-judgmental approach to your own emotional states and reactions, you can find constructive ways. All manage these issues and to accept yourself for the complex and valuable person that you are.
At Psychotherapy Partners, we offer acceptance and commitment therapy as well as many other options for our patients. We serve the entire Minneapolis-St. Paul area with the customized therapy needed to help our patients live their best and most fulfilling lives. Give us a call today at 612-886-6112 to request an appointment with our team. We are here to serve you now and in the future.
ACT and Mindfulness
Acceptance and commitment therapy methods ideally suited to complement mindfulness exercises, which provide the tools and techniques needed to observe one’s own emotional and cognitive processes. By becoming more aware of the outside world and the internal responses to outside stimuli, patients can help themselves to break out of old patterns and to achieve a greater degree of acceptance in all areas of their personal lives.