Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an innovative and evidence-based form of psychotherapy that encourages individuals to embrace their thoughts and feelings rather than fighting or feeling guilty for them.
ACT is a mindfulness-based therapy that combines acceptance and behavioural change strategies to help individuals live a meaningful life. The core idea of ACT is to accept what is out of one’s personal control and commit to action that improves and enriches one’s life. ACT is grounded in six core processes that promote psychological flexibility.
Key Components of ACT:
ACT involves a combination of mindfulness skills and behavioural strategies to help clients develop greater psychological flexibility. The therapy sessions are designed to help clients accept their inner experiences while committing to actions that align with their values.
1. Assessment and Goal Setting: The therapist gathers information about the client’s history and current issues, and together they set specific, meaningful goals for therapy.
2. Cognitive Defusion: The therapist teaches techniques to help the client detach from unhelpful thoughts and feelings, reducing their influence and impact.
3. Acceptance: Clients learn to accept their thoughts and feelings without trying to change them, which can reduce the struggle against unwanted experiences.
4. Mindfulness: Clients practice mindfulness exercises to stay grounded in the present moment and enhance self-awareness.
5. Values Clarification: The therapist helps the client identify and clarify their core values, guiding them towards a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
6. Committed Action: Clients set specific, value-based goals and take steps towards achieving them, supported by the therapist.
ACT sessions typically last between 45 and 60 minutes. During these sessions, clients engage in a variety of experiential exercises and mindfulness practices. The therapist and psychologist provides support, guidance, and feedback to help the client achieve their therapeutic goals.
Steps in an ACT Session:
1. Check-In: The session begins with a check-in to discuss the client’s current state and any new issues that have arisen.
2. Agenda Setting: The therapist and client set an agenda for the session, focusing on specific topics or goals.
3. Mindfulness Practice: The therapist guides the client through mindfulness exercises to promote present-moment awareness.
4. Cognitive Defusion: The therapist helps the client practice techniques to detach from unhelpful thoughts and feelings.
5. Acceptance: Clients engage in exercises that promote acceptance of their inner experiences.
6. Values Clarification: The therapist helps the client explore and identify their core values.
7. Committed Action: The client sets value-based goals and plans actionable steps to achieve them.
8. Homework: The client is given homework assignments to practice the skills learned in therapy and to apply them in their daily life.
9. Closure: The session ends with a summary of what was covered and a plan for the next session.
ACT may offer numerous benefits for individuals seeking to improve their mental health and overall well-being:
ACT is considered a safe and effective approach for treating a variety of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, and chronic pain. It is important to work with a certified ACT therapist who has undergone specialised training to ensure the best possible outcomes.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) offers a unique approach to understanding and accepting inner experiences while committing to value-based actions. By recognising and embracing these experiences, individuals may achieve greater psychological flexibility and lead a more meaningful life. If you are considering ACT, know that you are taking a proactive step towards improving your mental health. A qualified ACT therapist can guide you through this process with expertise and compassion.
Remember, healing is a journey, and seeking help is a sign of strength. ACT might be the key to unlocking a more balanced and fulfilling life.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about ACT therapy, we have a number of ACT trained therapists who can help – give us a call on 1300 830 552 or send an email enquiry to be matched with a therapist near you.
What ACT really means by "acceptance", the skills it teaches, and the evidence behind one of the most practical therapies available.
ACT helps you stop wrestling with difficult thoughts and feelings and start acting on what matters to you. Rather than trying to eliminate anxiety or painful emotions, ACT builds your ability to make room for them while still moving toward the relationship and life you want. It’s practical, values-driven and well researched.
ACT is used for anxiety, stress, low mood, chronic pain and life transitions – and it translates naturally into relationship work, where accepting a partner’s differences (rather than campaigning to change them) is often the turning point.
CBT works on changing unhelpful thoughts; ACT works on changing your relationship to them – noticing a thought like “I’m failing at this marriage” without letting it run the show. Both are evidence-based; which suits you better is partly a matter of style, and it’s exactly the kind of thing our matching process takes into account.
We have ACT-trained therapists in most cities – including ACT therapy in Sydney and ACT therapists in Perth – and available by telehealth Australia-wide.
Often, yes. Long-term relationships involve accepting things about each other that won’t change, and telling those apart from things that genuinely need to. ACT gives couples a framework for that distinction, plus tools for staying connected during discomfort instead of withdrawing from it.
No – and this is the most common misreading of ACT. Acceptance in ACT means dropping the exhausting internal fight against feelings you can’t control, precisely so you have energy for the actions you can control. In a relationship context it never means accepting mistreatment – ACT is explicitly about committed action toward what you value, and sometimes that action is a hard conversation or a firm boundary.
ACT works through six connected skills: being present, acceptance, defusion (unhooking from unhelpful thoughts), self-as-context (you are more than your thoughts and feelings), values clarity, and committed action. In plain terms: notice what’s happening, make room for it, don’t let your mind bully you, know what matters to you, and act on it.
ACT has a substantial evidence base – hundreds of clinical trials across anxiety, depression, stress and chronic pain – and is recognised as an established evidence-based therapy. Like any approach, fit matters: ACT tends to click with people who are tired of fighting their own minds and want something practical and values-driven.
ACT is usually a shorter to medium-term therapy – many people work over roughly eight to sixteen sessions, though brief ACT formats exist too. Because it’s skills-based, what you learn keeps working after sessions end.
This is actually one of ACT’s strongest areas – it’s widely used in pain management, where fighting the pain often amplifies suffering more than the pain itself. The same logic applies to health anxiety and to living alongside a partner’s chronic illness, which is a relationship strain we see often.
Your relationship matters. For over 20 years, we’ve helped over 97,000 clients as Australia’s leading couples counselling group. With over 200+ Hart Centre Certified therapists, finding yours is easy.
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