What Is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a third-wave cognitive behavioural therapy that takes a fundamentally different approach to psychological suffering than traditional CBT. While traditional CBT works to reduce or eliminate negative thoughts and feelings, ACT works to change your relationship with thoughts and feelings — accepting them without struggle while committing to actions aligned with your values. ACT therapy is based on the principle that psychological suffering is caused not by difficult thoughts and feelings themselves, but by our attempts to control, avoid, or eliminate them — attempts that paradoxically increase suffering. ACT therapy teaches psychological flexibility: the ability to be present, open, and engaged regardless of what thoughts and feelings are arising.
ACT therapy has a substantial evidence base for anxiety disorders, depression, chronic pain, OCD, PTSD, and substance use disorders. ACT therapy is particularly effective for conditions where experiential avoidance — the tendency to avoid difficult internal experiences — plays a central role in maintaining suffering. ACT therapy is also highly effective for people who have not responded well to traditional CBT, offering a different approach to the same evidence-based treatment tradition. ACT therapy is available through NHS talking therapies, private therapists, and increasingly through digital platforms.
Core ACT Techniques
Defusion is an ACT technique for changing your relationship with thoughts. ACT defusion involves observing thoughts from a distance rather than being fused with them (treating them as literal truth). ACT defusion techniques include adding "I notice I'm having the thought that..." before any thought, thanking your mind for a thought, imagining thoughts as leaves on a stream. ACT defusion reduces the power of distressing thoughts without requiring their elimination — a significant advantage over suppression-based approaches that increase thought frequency.
Acceptance in ACT means allowing difficult feelings to exist without fighting them. ACT acceptance is not resignation or approval — it is the active choice to make room for difficult experiences without the secondary suffering created by struggling against them. Committed action in ACT involves identifying what matters most to you (values) and taking consistent steps toward valued living regardless of how you feel. Values clarification in ACT distinguishes between what you genuinely value and what you pursue to avoid anxiety or gain approval. SatKarya's diary supports ACT values clarification and tracks committed action toward valued living. The SatKarya community provides peer support for ACT practice. Explore ACT-informed mental health support on SatKarya