🧠What Is ACT Therapy? A Compassionate Approach to Mental Flexibility
A Look Inside the 2-Part Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Training I Completed
What if the goal of therapy wasn’t to “get rid” of painful thoughts and feelings — but to change your relationship to them so they no longer control your life?
That’s the heart of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) — and one of the reasons I pursued specialized training in this approach. Through a 2-part clinical series, I deepened my ability to help clients build psychological flexibility, clarify values, and take meaningful steps forward even when things feel hard.
🧠What Is ACT?
ACT (pronounced “act,” not A-C-T) is an evidence-based therapy that combines mindfulness, behavioral strategies, and values work. It doesn’t ask you to suppress or fix your thoughts — it teaches you how to notice them, hold them lightly, and focus on what matters most.
ACT helps people:
Stop fighting with their thoughts
Understand that emotions aren’t problems to solve
Create distance from painful inner experiences
Take committed action that aligns with their values
💠“I’m Anxious — So What Now?”
Where traditional CBT might say, “Let’s challenge that anxious thought,” ACT might say, “Yes, that thought is here. And we don’t have to let it steer the wheel.”
Instead of getting stuck in the “why,” ACT helps clients ask:
“What do I want to move toward, even if this feeling is here?”
This is especially powerful for:
Anxiety and perfectionism
Trauma and avoidance
OCD (alongside ERP)
Identity exploration and life transitions
Clients who feel “stuck in their heads”
đź“š What I Learned in the ACT Training
In this 2-part training, I explored:
The six core processes of ACT: present moment, values, committed action, self-as-context, acceptance, and cognitive defusion
How to use metaphors and experiential techniques to shift perspective
How to support clients in holding space for discomfort while taking action
How ACT blends beautifully with trauma-informed and somatic work
What stood out to me most was how non-pathologizing ACT is. It doesn’t label internal experiences as “wrong” — it teaches clients how to carry them differently, so they can move through the world with more ease and meaning.
🪞 How ACT Shows Up in My Work
You might hear me say things like:
“What does your anxiety keep you from doing that matters to you?”
“Can we let that thought exist without letting it lead the decision?”
“Let’s slow this down. What would it feel like to choose from your values here?”
This is ACT in motion. And when combined with trauma-informed care, it becomes a deeply flexible, empowering framework for change.
✨ You Don’t Have to Feel Better to Live Better
If you’ve been waiting to feel less anxious, more confident, or more healed before taking action — ACT might be a game-changer for you. We don’t wait for the fear to vanish. We learn to move with it.
Reach out here if you’re interested in therapy that’s values-driven, compassionate, and designed for real-life nuance.
