Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a psychological intervention method that applies acceptance and mindfulness processes, and commitment and behavior change processes, to the creation of psychological flexibility. ACT is based on a broad research program in human language and cognition, Relational Frame Theory (RFT). In controlled research, ACT has been shown to be helpful with a wide variety of problems including depression, self-harm, chronic pain, anxiety, psychosis, prejudice, worksite stress, employee burnout, diabetic self-management, adjustment to cancer, obsessive-compulsive disorder, trichotil-lomania, adjustment to epilepsy, and self-stigma, among others.

In the substance abuse area, ACT is known to be helpful for both clients and therapists. For clients, there are successful controlled studies in the areas of opioid addiction, marijuana abuse, smoking, and group treatment during inpatient drug ...