Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based approach within the third wave of cognitive behavioural therapies. It does not aim to eliminate difficult thoughts and feelings; instead it teaches us to make room for them while moving toward what matters.
The model has six interrelated processes — acceptance, defusion, present-moment awareness, self-as-context, values and committed action — that together build what ACT calls psychological flexibility.
Decades of research show ACT is effective across anxiety, depression, chronic pain, eating difficulties, and a growing list of other concerns. It is also one of the most learnable models for frontline workers, because it relies on simple ideas applied with skill.
If you are new to ACT, the most useful starting point is values: a clear sense of the kind of person you want to be. From there, every skill becomes a way of acting in service of those values, even when life is hard.