Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an approach that stems from behavioral therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Created in 1986 by Steve Hayes, ACT has a considerable amount of empirical data to support its effectiveness. ‘
There is a saying that if you sweep things under the rug, eventually you will trip over them. Acceptance and commitment therapy helps clients to face their inner emotions and release the habits of avoidance and denial. With this approach, clients begin to radically accept themselves no matter what emotions move through them.
ACT has been used to effectively help with:

● Workplace stress
● Test anxiety
● Social anxiety
● Depression
● Obsessive-compulsive disordeR
● Chronic pain
● Substance abuse

ACT assists clients in the process of committing to the necessary changes within themselves. ACT incorporates mindful behavior, attention to core values, and commitment to action. ACT blends intentional action with acceptance of personal experiences to guide clients with altering their attitude and emotional state.
The goal of ACT is to create a life full of meaning and passion, while accepting the pain that inevitably goes with it. This goal is achieved through mindfulness-based techniques to handle personal experiences. ACT can be used with individuals, couples, and groups. This approach can be offered as brief or long term therapy and is strongly client centered.

ACT sees formal meditation as only one way of many forms of mindfulness skills. ACT divides mindfulness into four subsets:

● Acceptance
● Cognitive defusion
● Contact with the present moment
● The observing self