Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based psychological intervention that focuses on helping individuals develop psychological flexibility. By incorporating mindfulness and acceptance techniques, ACT aims to empower clients to build a meaningful life and effectively manage difficult thoughts and feelings. BlueCrest Health Group’s acceptance and commitment therapy program is designed to help individuals struggling with addiction and mental health concerns, such as depression, anxiety disorders, and trauma.
With two state-of-the-art recovery centers in New Jersey, BlueCrest Recovery Center and BlueCrest Counseling Center, we aim to provide comprehensive and personalized care to humans suffering from mental health conditions and addiction, and their loved ones. Contact us to learn more about our acceptance and commitment therapy program and other mental health services.
What Is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and How Does It Work?
In simple terms, acceptance and commitment therapy is a form of psychotherapy that combines mindfulness, acceptance, and behavior change strategies to overcome psychological inflexibility. It promotes psychological flexibility, the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and effectively manage negative thoughts and emotions, helping people overcome psychological pain and psychological suffering, and helping them achieve higher levels of personal growth.
ACT protocols include:- Acceptance – Learning to accept unpleasant thoughts and feelings without judgment
- Cognitive defusion – Learning to separate oneself from unhelpful thoughts and beliefs
- Mindfulness – Practicing being in the present moment fully and aware of one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions
- Values clarification – Identifying personal values and using them as a guide for decision-making
- Committed action – Taking steps toward living a meaningful life in alignment with one’s values
- Self-as-context – Developing a flexible sense of self that can adapt to various situations and challenges
Integrating 12-Step Programs into Evidence-Based Treatment
Evidence-based treatment refers to the use of scientifically validated methods and approaches in addressing addiction and mental health issues. These clinical psychology methods incorporate various therapeutic techniques, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and family therapy, among others, to ensure the most effective treatment outcomes.
The 12-step program can be integrated into clinical treatment programs in various ways. Clients can engage in 12-step group therapy and individual behavioral therapy while in our program. 12-step can also enforce the coping skills taught in behavioral therapy, helping individuals learn from others.Benefits of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Mental Health and Well-Being
The ACT program is designed to benefit individuals struggling with addiction and mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and more. ACT literature shows the therapy to be effective in addressing a wide range of psychological issues and can be particularly beneficial for those who have not found success with traditional behavior therapy. Some of the benefits of ACT over other therapies include:
- A focus on values and meaningful living rather than symptom reduction
- Emphasis on developing long-term coping strategies rather than short-term solutions
- Encouragement of self-compassion and non-judgmental acceptance of thoughts and feelings
How ACT Integrates into Your Comprehensive Treatment Plan
At BlueCrest Health Group, we understand that each individual’s journey to recovery is unique. Our therapists incorporate ACT into personalized therapy plans alongside other evidence-based therapies such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and motivational interviewing (MI). This comprehensive therapeutic approach allows our clients to benefit from a range of therapeutic techniques tailored to their specific needs and goals.
The Six Core Processes of ACT: Building Psychological Flexibility
ACT is guided by six core values that help individuals build psychological flexibility, as follows:
- Cognitive Defusion: Perceiving thoughts, images, and memories as mental events rather than hard facts, rules, or threats. While not exactly experiential avoidance, it detaches you from what’s happening, reducing cognitive fusion.
- Acceptance (or Expansion): Allowing unpleasant thoughts and feelings, that may be linked to uncomfortable private events, to exist and pass without suppressing them or struggling against them.
- Contact with the Present Moment: Devloping a sense of mindfulness that puts you in the present, rather than worrying about the past or future.
- Self as Context (or Developing Self-Understanding: Developing a detached sense of self, where you act as a bystander watching yourself experience feelings to promote response flexibility.
- Values Clarification: Clarifying what truly matters to you, such as health and family, guides you to make healthy choices.
- Committed Action: Taking value-based steps towards your goals despite obstacles to build a pattern of valued behavior.
Mental Health Conditions Treated with ACT
ACT can address various mental health condtions, including:
- Anxiety Disorders such as panic disorders, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and phobias
- Mood Disorders like depression and bipolar disorder
- Trauma and stress-related disorders, such as PTSD and other trauma-based disorders
- Substance abuse
- Eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, and overeating
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Psychosis
- Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
ACT vs Traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Key Differences
While there is some overlap between ACT and cognitive behavioral tradition, they are very different approaches. A mental health professional will conduct a behavior analysis to determine what is best for you. Here are some key variations between ACT behavioral and cognitive therapy to be aware of:
- How They Relate to Thoughts: Cognitive therapy aims to challenge and change the thought. ACT encourages people to fuse with their thoughts, i.e., cognitive defusion.
- How They Relate to Emotions: CBT’s goal of challenging and changing thoughts also impacts the resulting emotions. ACT asks you to accept emotions as human experiences.
- Main Goals: CBT focuses on symptom relief for more accurate emotional processing, leading to improved mood. ACT’s aim is to help people deal with emotions, even when it’s hard, and take action guided by valued living. It drives health behavior change.
- Role of Values: CBT may address values, but in ACT, they are a core ACT process.
- Techniques: Both therapies use exposure, behavioral activation, skills building, and problem-solving. However, CBT focuses more on cognitive restructuring, identifying negative thoughts and distortions, and experimenting to test beliefs. ACT involves mindfulness, defusion, acceptance of thoughts, and value clarification.
- View of Control: CBT assumes that changing thoughts and behaviors will lead to positive outcomes. ACT is based on the theory that control leads to internal struggles and encourages clients to let go, thereby avoiding cognitive entanglement.
The Science Behind ACT: Contextual Behavioral Science and Relational Frame Theory
ACT is not random; it is based on empirical evidence and grounded in Relational Frame Theory (RFT), a contextual model that shows how human language and cognition work. It explores humans’ capacity for language and symbolism. While these capabilities make humans more evolved than other animals, it also increases the risk of worry and overthinking.
An ACT therapist aims to eliminate the negative aspects of evolution through basic principles such as mindfulness, helping people experience life directly, and challenging problematic thinking, making the client a more conscious human being. This approach should change behaviors and motivate individuals to focus on value-aligned goals.
While ACT acknowledges that values are tied to language, it encourages people to live their own lives in a chosen direction rather than escape painful feelings. The core process of psychological flexibility guides this outcome, helping people align with their values, even in the face of challenges and obstacles.
Living a Values-Based Life: ACT's Approach to Personal Growth
Commitment therapy acceptance is a transdiagnostic behavioral intervention tied to valued living. So how does one live a valued human life? Personal growth is key, and it can be achieved through the following techniques:
- Clarifying Values: The first step is to determine which values are important to you. Popular values include family, relationships, health, and career. It’s also essential to distinguish values from goals and feelings.
- Psychological Flexibility: Living by values requires psychological flexibility, which can be achieved through the core processes of ACT, such as mindfulness, self-as-context, acceptance, defusion, and committed action, even in the face of unwanted internal experiences.
- Turning Values into Action: This involves setting goals aligned with values and breaking them down into actionable steps. Expect challenges to arise, and use ACT principles to deal with them.
- Values-Based Living vs. Symptoms-Based Living: Symptoms-based living involves finding solutions that bring short-term relief. With values-based living, you consider how your actions will bring you closer to the person you want to be, leading to an overall improved quality of life.
- Personal Growth: This can be achieved through recognizing what matters, noticing and allowing negative emotions, and choosing human behavior that guides you in the right direction. It should lead to stronger relationships, greater self-worth, and more meaning in work and study.
Research and Evidence Supporting Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Various studies provide empirical support that backs the effectiveness of ACT, including the following:
- A 2024 study published in the PubMed journal shows ACT is mostly effective in treating depressive symptoms, anxiety, OCD, psychosis, substance abuse, and chronic pain.
- A 2024 review published in Sage Journals reveals that ACT systematically reduces symptom severity, enhances emotional regulation, improves life satisfaction, and boosts psychological flexibility.
- A paper published in ACA.org shows that ACT has produced positive outcomes across a broad range of problems and areas of growth. The psychological flexibility model leads to behavioral change and personal growth that align with most of the goals of counseling psychology.
What to Expect During ACT Therapy Sessions
In our ACT in New Jersey, clients can expect to participate in individual, group, and family therapy sessions. During these sessions, our therapists will introduce ACT techniques and guide clients through exercises designed to help them develop psychological flexibility and develop greater clarity.
Individual sessions are tailored to address each client’s unique needs and goals, while group sessions provide an opportunity for clients to connect with others facing similar challenges. Family therapy sessions involve loved ones in the healing process, helping to strengthen relationships and foster a supportive environment and valued direction for recovery.
Start BlueCrest Health Group's Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Program in New Jersey
At BlueCrest Health Group, our ultimate goal is to empower our clients to live meaningful, fulfilling lives free from the constraints of addiction and mental health concerns. Our acceptance and commitment therapy program is just one of the many tools we offer to help our clients achieve lasting recovery and personal growth. Learn more about our professional organization’s addiction therapy programs and other services, including level-of-care assessments, by contacting us today.
FAQs
ACT encourages people to accept negative thoughts and emotions without fighting them or letting these feelings overwhelm them. It focuses on cognitive defusion and psychological flexibility in processing emotion and emphasizes value-driven behavior, ensuring you act on chosen values rather than impulses.
The six core processes of ACT are cognitive defusion, acceptance, mindfulness, self-understanding, values clarification, and committed action. Overall, these processes guide you to detach yourself from your thoughts and let them exist without struggling against them. They allow you to be guided by your values rather than your emotions.
The biggest difference between ACT and CBT is that ACT requires you to accept your thoughts while CBT guides you to reframe them. ACT is also more focused on values.
ACT treats a wide range of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, trauma, substance abuse, eating disorders, OCD, and psychosis.
BlueCrest’s ACT approach starts with an assessment to gain a deep understanding of your mental health issues. Then we take you through the steps of ACT with values clarification and mindfulness exercises. Homework assignments and weekly evaluations are included in therapy, and techniques may evolve over time.
ACT doesn’t completely eliminate chronic pain or treat medical conditions. However, it changes the way you think about these conditions, making them easier to bear. For example, it addresses thoughts of helplessness and loss and encourages people to detach and engage in activities that help them focus on something other than their pain.
Yes, several studies and bodies of research back the effects of ACT, showing it as an effective treatment for various mental conditions and chronic pain. It has been shown to improve emotional regulation and quality of life.