What is ACT?
ACT for BeginnersNow the official abbreviation for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is ACT not A c t. ACT gets its name from one of its core messages, which is accept what is out of your personal control and commit to action that improves your life. So it's not passive acceptance therapy. There's a massive emphasis in this model on committed action. Take action to improve your life, to solve your problems, change your behavior, do things differently to get better outcomes.
And at the same time, accept what's out of your personal control. A lot of our thoughts, feelings, emotions and memories are just not things that we can control. So learning to accept them is a better and more effective approach. Now in layman's terms, the aim of ACT is to live a rich, full, and meaningful life while accepting the pain that inevitably goes with it.
In technical terms, the aim of ACT is to increase psychological flexibility. Your ability to be in the present moment right here, right now, engaged in your experience, to open up fully to your experience, open up and make room for all the thoughts and feelings that are arising in this moment, and to do what matters, acting in line with your values, acting effectively. Be present, open up and do what matters. ACT was created by Steven Hayes, more formally known as Professor Steven C. Hayes at the University of Reno, Nevada, back in the early 1980s.
Further elaborated by his colleagues Kirk Strosahl and Kelly Wilson. And I have to say all three of these pioneers have had an enormous impact and influence on the way that I do ACT.