Acceptance And Commitment Therapy
“ACT” is a relatively new psychological approach, oriented in cognitive behavioural therapy.
ACT views suffering as a normal aspect of the human condition, helping individuals to work through difficulties by using mindfulness techniques, and acceptance, rather than avoidance and control which tend to prolong suffering.
ACT helps people to move away from needing to control their thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. Instead, through ACT we learn to notice what we are doing in situations, be present and accept and embrace what is outside our control, no matter how painful thoughts and feelings might be.
This frees individuals to commit to a different way of being. You can choose a new direction toward a better quality of life and take committed action to that end. ACT therefore helps to confront difficulties, rather than enabling avoidance or trying to remove them, and in so doing, individuals can learn new and more optimal ways to work with their challenges. This can lead to new understandings about what might be most important to an person, and offers meaning and purpose in life.
ACT conceptualises suffering by using the acronym FEAR:
Fusion with your thoughts. Evaluation of experience. Avoidance of your experience. Reason-giving for your behaviour.
And instead offers a more useful alternative:
Accept your reactions and be present, Choose a valued direction, Take action.
At Phinity we offer short- and long-term ACT. Our ACT therapists will help you to be mindful and present with your current experience and to distinguish between how your thoughts, feelings, and memories seem to you, and how they are.
You will learn to Accept these parts of yourself and your experience, using mindfulness to allow thoughts, memories, and feelings to come and go, rather than attempting to control and avoid them. This can free you to identify what is important to you and to Commit to act in ways that will move you in a more helpful direction.
Your therapist will facilitate a safe space and use metaphor and experimental exercises to help you to confront inner thoughts, memories, and feelings that you would normally avoid. You will learn to notice, reframe, and accept these so that you can learn what your values are, and understand what is important to you.
You will be encouraged to commit to the path that serves your values, thus impacting your behaviour in a positive way. We recommend weekly sessions, which last 50 minutes.
- Mindful – ACT helps individuals to be present and non-judgemental with themselves
- Recognise and notice the influence you have over how you think, feel, and act in situations, and feel empowered
- Accept and embrace toward change, rather than control and avoid, as this leads to further suffering
- Restructure negative thoughts into more helpful ones that serve you
- Learn about your values and what really matters to you. Find what is meaningful
- Commit to a new way of being, by behaving in ways that will benefit you
- Improve your life quality and wellbeing
- A new philosophy to take forward, for life
ACT can effectively treat a range of psychological as well as physical conditions. These include anxiety disorders, and psychological conditions. As well as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic pain and eating disorders. This is thought to be the case because of ACT’s ability to help individuals to accept and reframe situations.
We offer Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Birmingham. Phinity Therapy also serve other cities and countries through our network of qualified therapists. Online therapy is also available, catering for those who cannot reach our clinic or have busy schedules.
Make a commitment to taking control and living the life you want and deserve. Start by booking your Free Initial Consultation Today and speak to one of our friendly principal therapists about your concerns and desired goals.
You can alternatively fill in our contact form located on our About Us page, or give us a call.
*Due to limited time slot availability caused by high demand, we now offer only one Free Initial Consultation for prospective clients, further conversations are charged at our normal rate.
We are proud to connect you with highly experienced practitioners who can help with almost any psychological issue.
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