I like to think of psychotherapy like prescribing medication and like medication, there is a prescription for each condition (e.g., depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, etc.). Much like the prescriptions for physical health conditions, you will find some treatments work better than others, depending on the individual. You will also find that the prescriptions for psychological conditions are based on extensive research, ensuring the effectiveness of the treatment on addressing the psychological conditions, just like in the medications doctors prescribe.

In this article today, I want to introduce you to one of our treatment prescriptions, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or ACT (which is pronounced as the word ‘act’, not as the initials).

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is part of the 3rd wave of psychological interventions which includes Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and several others therapies. These therapies comprise a movement in psychology that regard mindfulness (the concept of being connected and open to the present in a curious and non-judgemental way) and acceptance (opening up and making room for painful experiences) as important additions to treatment strategies.

Research has indicated that cultivating mindfulness and acceptance to one’s experience is helpful in the treatment of depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, substance abuse conditions, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorders and even psychotic conditions (e.g., Schizophrenia). In general, ACT can also assist in building resilience to help cope with day-to-day stressors.

So what is this ACT you say….

I am going to introduce ACT to you much like I do with my clients……

Imagine you are driving one of those cute yellow American school buses. You are up front driving in your life direction. Along the way there are roads you want to take that are important to you in some way (e.g., having children, getting a job, finishing school, making friends, start exercising, dating, get that promotion at work, travelling, going to uni, falling in love…..you get the picture). When you start venturing down these roads you may notice some difficult passengers showing up. These can be your thoughts, feelings, memories, beliefs, and sensations. For example, these passengers may be telling you “you can’t do it”, “ you will fail”, “you’re not good enough”, “people will judge you”. These passengers may bring up memories of previous situations where you’ve failed before or may spin a story of how this situation will turn out. You may even have passengers that are always looking ahead for what you need to do next and never get to enjoy the actual moment to moment processes of being on this road. These passengers are often quite loud, consistent and hard to deal with so we find ourselves sometimes backing out of these roads to move away and quieten these passengers. Sometimes we even stop the bus to try and get rid of these difficult passengers. For example, we may tell ourselves to stop thinking about it, think about something positive, drink alcohol excessively, overeat, etc. We succeed at getting rid of the passengers for a little while but these passengers come back. When we try and get rid of our passengers by avoiding taking action towards something meaningful, purposeful in our life and/or fuse with our passengers to try and get rid of them we find  it comes at a significant cost and doesn’t really work permanently. The cost is essentially our mental and emotional wellbeing. We end up stuck in a negative loop that goes round and round, that keeps us from doing, or connecting with, what brings us meaning and purpose in our lives.

So how does ACT help…….

Dr Russ Harris, a leading ACT therapist explains that the aim of ACT is to maximise human potential for a rich, full and meaningful life by:

1. Teaching you psychological skills to deal with your painful thoughts and feelings effectively – in such a way that they have much less impact and influence over you as you take those roads you want to in life.

1. Helping you to clarify what is truly important and meaningful to you – i.e your values – the roads you want to travel – then use that knowledge to guide, inspire and motivate you to change your life for the better.

If you feel ACT could be the right prescription for you call our reception now on 3822 9983 or email info@zestinfusion.com.au to book an appointment.

Before continuing with your day click on the link below to watch a very short clip explaining one of the commonly used ACT metaphors:

Passengers On A Bus – an Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) Metaphor

By Joe Oliver https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z29ptSuoWRc

Wishing you enough today and everyday.