Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Feeling stuck? How (ACT) counseling skills can help

This type of treatment is designed to help people who feel stuck in a rut to move away from behaviors and thoughts that are keeping them stuck, and instead move forward in the direction that aligns with their stated values and behaviors and ultimately allows them to thrive.

It can be easy to get caught up in loop thinking that leads to a crippling spiral keeping you stuck, or worse, limits your ability to be hopeful and motivate yourself to do the very things that will make you feel better.

These negative thinking patterns are scripts that you repeat to yourself like, “I’m such a failure, why bother trying.” This thinking then leads to behaviors that cause the thinker to distract themselves by doing an activity that does not move them in the direction of achieving the goals that they have developed, and instead keeps them stuck.

People have difficulty recognizing when their actions don’t align with their values. When people fall into a rut they may forget what their values are.

ACT treatment helps the receiver to identify their values and the behaviors that lead in the direction of their values, and to identify the thinking loops that keep them stuck and the behaviors that draw them away from their values.

Uncomfortable sensations come with moving away from our values. People often use avoidance to deal with these feelings. These behaviors tend to be mindless and the person is frequently not aware of the purpose of these behaviors.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps the person receiving services to begin to recognize these patterns and behaviors that are keeping them stuck and to see these things from a different angle. This allows them to begin to make different choices that lead toward their stated values by committing to new behaviors.