Social Work Programs

A recently adopted form of psychotherapy known as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy has become very popular. It was created in the 90s by Steven Hayes and is considered to be in the school of behavioral and cognitive therapy. These therapy methods have long been used to treat behavioral issues like anxiety, stress due to traumatic situations, and depression.

Cognitive behavioral therapy teaches patients to take a negative thought and evaluate all the reasons why it is false.

However, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) will allow the patient to accept that thought right away. Those thoughts may even be allowed to continue or repeat until the intensity of them is naturally reduced. These unwanted thoughts are not readily released but instead are accepted. Professional therapists who use the ACT technique have argued that this method is more successful in a shorter amount of time. It allows a person to understand that they can still take action with having to modify or altar your feelings in any way. You can realize that you are having these disconcerting feelings but still are able to act on the opposite. When we resist something or try to counter it, it often sets up an opposition. But observing it, can make us free of it. I remember reading a book by Natalie Goldberg who was involved in the zen tradition for a long time. She was talking about sitting in loneliness and realizing it was just a feeling. It is important that she was sitting in it but also had the intention for a different order of life. When we avoid something , it is still there. When we face it, it changes it’s complexion.

ACT stresses the idea of Mindfulness, which is a practice of being present in thoughts and daily living. You will also be taught to identify your personal set of values and choose behaviors and actions that agree with your values. A higher level of fulfillment is achieved when we can overcome thoughts and feelings that are negative. Patients are taught to choose to take positive action event when destructive situations arise. One isn’t just sinking in defeat into the negative feelings and patterns, but by processing them, they are overcome. We often push away feelings and they are still there untouched. This form of therapy will integrate paradoxes and metaphors to help someone unstick from their assumptions.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a great tool for people dealing with substance abuse, physical or emotional abuse, as well as patients with OCD, phobias, and bi-polar disorders. Sitting in one’s feelings, questioning the assumptions, watching them and making new choices give us a new direction. Couples and families have also been able to benefit from this method and grow closer and more intimate with each other.