acceptance & commitment therapy

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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, is a mindfulness-based therapy developed by Steven Hayes. The aim of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is to enable us to live a more meaningful life that is congruent with and reflects our values and what is important to us. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps us do this by giving us the tools that allow us to move past whatever barriers we face as we travel along our path towards building a valued life.

ACT is one of the ‘third wave’ cognitive and behavioural therapies. It incorporates acceptance and mindfulness strategies alongside change strategies, in recognition that change is not always possible or desirable. 

ACT is theoretically derived from relational frame theory (RFT) which is a behaviour analytic account of the functional properties of human language. The ACT approach proposes that suffering and dysfunction arise from attempts to control or eliminate unwanted experiences. Attempts to control or avoid can lead to the paradoxical effect of greater suffering and a perception of loss of control of the focus for elimination. 

The aim of ACT is to increase psychological flexibility, which is defined as “contacting the present moment fully as a conscious human being, and based on what the situation affords, changing or persisting in behaviour in the service of chosen values” (Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda, & Lillis, 2006).