Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based therapy within the cognitive behavioural family. It was developed by psychologist Steven Hayes and colleagues, and is built around the concept of psychological flexibility: the ability to stay open to difficult thoughts and feelings while still acting in line with your values. Rather than aiming to remove uncomfortable thoughts and emotions, ACT focuses on changing a person’s relationship to them. It is sometimes described as a “third wave” cognitive behavioural therapy, because it works with how a person relates to their thoughts rather than the content of the thoughts themselves.
How Does Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Work
ACT combines mindfulness and acceptance strategies with work on values and behaviour change. The approach generally involves:
- learning to observe thoughts without automatically acting on them
- making room for difficult emotions rather than struggling against them
- clarifying what matters most to you
- setting and taking concrete steps in line with those values
The emphasis is less on reducing symptoms directly and more on building a meaningful life alongside whatever difficulties are present.
How Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Helps
By reducing the struggle to control or avoid inner experiences, ACT aims to free up energy for what a person values. ACT has been studied in a large number of trials across both mental and physical health concerns, including anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and stress. The skills it teaches are intended to remain useful well beyond the end of therapy.
Who Can Benefit from ACT
ACT is used for a variety of concerns, including:
- anxiety and chronic worry
- depression and low mood
- ongoing stress
- chronic pain and health-related difficulties
People often come to ACT when the effort to control or get rid of difficult thoughts and feelings has become its own problem: when so much energy goes into managing anxiety, low mood, or pain that life has quietly shrunk around it. It can be a good fit when you feel you’ve already tried everything and want a different relationship with the struggle rather than another way to win it.
ACT tends to suit people drawn to mindfulness and to questions of meaning and values, and it doesn’t require you to feel better before you start living better. It is used across many concerns, including physical health conditions, and works well alongside other approaches.
Therapy most often includes multiple approaches, shaped around what best fits for you. Your counsellor will work with you to design an approach that meets your needs.
Finding the Right Fit
Research consistently shows that a safe, trusting therapeutic relationship is one of the strongest predictors of positive outcomes in counselling. When helping you find a therapist, we consider:
- Your goals, concerns, and preferences
- Your past experiences with counselling (if any)
- Therapist expertise and clinical focus
- Personality, pace, and working style
- Therapeutic orientation and flexibility
Some clients come in knowing they are interested in a particular approach. Others have no idea where to begin—and both are completely valid. You do not need to choose a modality to start counselling. Our role is to help guide the process and support you in finding a therapist who feels like a good fit.
You can also explore therapist profiles on our Meet the Team page.
Frequently Asked Questions About Therapeutic Approaches
No. Many clients begin therapy without any knowledge of modalities. Your therapist will guide the process and adapt the work to what’s most helpful for you.
No. Therapists at River’s Edge work integratively, drawing from multiple evidence-based approaches as therapy unfolds.
Yes. If you have experience with or interest in a particular modality, we’re happy to take that into account when matching you with a therapist.
That’s very common. Therapy itself is a collaborative process of discovering what supports change for you.
Different approaches can be helpful for different people and concerns. Research shows that the quality of the therapeutic relationship and a flexible, responsive approach are key factors in effective therapy.