Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a 12-week programme focusing on how to manage thoughts and emotions more effectively, with an emphasis on mindfulness skills and connecting with values.
Each week, group members learn new skills to help them deal with difficulties experienced in daily life.
ACT is a form of therapy that teaches mindfulness skills. There is also a large emphasis on connecting with values, to that which matters the most to us. This helps to align our actions and bring us towards where we really want to be.
Mindfulness skills enable us to learn to be in the moment, connect more to who matters and make the most of each and every day. Mindfulness skills help us to unhook from unhelpful thoughts and to struggle less with uncomfortable emotions. The programme may be helpful for those who have experienced depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, addictions or psychosis.
One of the key aims of ACT is to help increase our levels of psychological flexibility. When we have greater psychological flexibility, it does not mean that we will never feel down or stressed again. What it does mean is that when unwanted or difficult situations arise in our life, we are able to respond to them by adapting and applying the skills that we have learned.
The programme aims to help you get “unstuck”. We all get stuck at certain points in our life. ACT aims to teach us skills so that we can learn to manage these thoughts and emotions more effectively and take effective action in our lives.
The programme takes place online for a half-day session for a period of 12 weeks. We also offer aftercare which is one half day a month following completion of the 12-week programme.
Course content
- Introduction, and looking at our lives in terms of workability.
- Connection, learning to live more in the moment which has been shown to help prevent depression relapse.
- Thought defusion-learning skills to help us to ‘unhook’ from unhelpful thoughts.
- Expansion; learning skills to help us struggle less with uncomfortable and unwanted emotions.
- Values; learning to connect with what is most important to us.
- Observing Self; learning to connect more with the observing self, that part of ourselves that notices without judgement. The part of ourselves that notices without judgement. The part of us that recognises all the different aspects of ourselves.
- Committed Action; Do today what it takes. Learning strategies to break our long term goals down into smaller steps and also learning skills to help us get back on track.
- Review of ACT and how to apply it in your life on any day basis.
This is a day patient programme.