ACT Practice
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
In ACT, you don't have to change difficult thoughts — just build a new relationship with them, and keep moving toward what matters most to you. 🌱
What ACT adds to classic CBT
Direction, not just relief
You choose actions from your values instead of waiting to feel ready.
Distance from thoughts
Defusion lets a thought be a thought rather than an instruction.
Less struggle
Acceptance frees the energy you spend fighting feelings that will pass anyway.
Present-moment contact
Attention returns to what is actually happening, not the commentary about it.
The science, briefly
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy targets psychological flexibility — the ability to stay in contact with the present and act on values even when thoughts and feelings are uncomfortable. Randomized trials support it for anxiety, depression, chronic pain and workplace stress, with outcomes broadly comparable to traditional CBT and stronger effects on avoidance.
How to use this page
- 1
Start with Values to name what actually matters to you, in your own words.
- 2
Run the Passengers on the Bus exercise when fear is steering your decisions.
- 3
Use defusion when a thought keeps repeating: notice it, name it, let it be there.
- 4
Finish with one committed action small enough to do in the next 24 hours.
Things worth remembering
- ✦Values are directions, not goals — you never finish 'being a caring friend'.
- ✦Acceptance is not approval; it is dropping the rope in a tug of war.
- ✦If an action feels impossible, halve it until it feels almost too easy.
- ✦Review your values monthly; they shift with life stage.
Common questions
How is ACT different from CBT?+
Classic CBT works on changing the content of thoughts. ACT works on changing your relationship to them, then moves quickly to values-based action.
Does acceptance mean giving up?+
No. It means stopping the fight with internal experience so your energy goes into the parts of life you can influence.
Can I do ACT alongside therapy?+
Yes, and it works well as homework between sessions. Bring your values list and committed actions to your therapist.