Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
by Jacinta Twohig
Psychologists are always learning…not just because a love of learning is likely part of what has bought us to the profession, but Learning (Professional Development) is a requirement of maintaining our ongoing registration with AHPRA. When the opportunity to attend in person training with Dr Russ Harris (in Perth!) arose I was excited and took it. Dr Russ Harris authors several books you may recognise – The Happiness Trap, The Reality Slap, The Confidence Gap to name a few. Russ advocates, trains, and practices in a form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT - the ‘go to’ therapy for many psychologists) – called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT for short - psychologists seem to enjoy acronyms.
Pronounced as it reads, the acronym benefits from conveying what this therapy is all about. How can you take committed ACTion towards living a value-driven life? The foundational premise of ACT is that your happiness originates from making choices that are in alignment with your values, whilst understanding that ‘pain’ in life is unavoidable. Humans are often busy trying to resist our difficult feelings – ACT interventions support an individual in allowing those feelings to be there and still making choices that reflect an individual’s own unique set of values. The ‘Acceptance’ of ACT is not a resigned, passive state of ‘bad things happen – deal with it’ – it is acknowledgement of the circumstances and feelings that are there and allowing them – not fighting them in a struggle.
Many of us have had a life with at least some challenging experiences – there may be some occurring for us right now. If everything that mattered to you (e.g., people, pets, environmental issues) was in front of you right now, and you were given the choice of
a) not feeling ‘anything’ to spare yourself pain but in doing so, your feelings of care about these things that greatly matter to you…were completely erased, or
b) continue to care greatly but at times endure painful emotions
Which would you choose?
ACT interventions provide support in navigating how to sit with discomfort and the joy that arises from your individual choices ‘to do or not do’ so you can sign out of this world satisfied with the decisions you’ve made and the actions you’ve taken.
If you would like to learn more about using ACT in your life, you can book in to work with one of our psychologists admin@kiddclinic.com.au
