Riding the Waves with ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)

I have been utilizing CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) in my career for many years

now and many of my clients have found it effective. Understanding how their thoughts and feelings intersect with their actions helps them to evaluate whether they are responding in a rational or even helpful way. They can often consider alternative thoughts that help them find another path. But I found that some clients got stuck along the way a lot of the time. They couldn't reason with themselves and find relief from intrusive thoughts that were tormenting them. Others struggled with the self awareness of what thoughts they were actually having and just felt a flood of emotions overwhelming them.

They continued to struggle while trying to push away or get rid of these unbearable moments that were troubling them. Many would turn to distraction - TV, Exercise, Youtube Videos, anything to keep them from thinking and feeling these overwhelming moments. But it didn't help. The thoughts come back. The feelings well up again. And still they can't cope with it. They felt shame about being so out of control with their emotions taking control. I wasn't sure how best to help these clients when CBT was not the fit that they needed.

It was at this point that I bought a primer on ACT by Russ Harris and began my journey to do better to serve my clients. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is an approach that incorporates the self awareness of CBT about our thoughts and feelings, but adds mindfulness practice that helps ground ourselves within our bodies and our environments in moments of crisis. Rather than pushing away our feelings and thoughts that are troublesome, ACT guides us to learn to accept them while learning to be present through mindfulness practice. These thoughts and feelings "hook" us and pull us in directions that we don't truly want to go, not in accordance with our core values. ACT helps us to engage in defusion which allows us to put some distance from the power of the overwhelming experience by noticing how we are being hooked. When we end up engaging in mindfulness practices (5 senses, Counted Breath, Breathing Visualization, etc.) we can ground ourselves and better cope with that flood of emotion taking over. We then utilize observation of the thoughts and feelings and allow them to float away. The mindfulness practice of allowing thoughts and emotions to come and go without engaging is the key to this practice.

The second step of the work is the commitment. My clients have to commit to take action that will get them back on the road to their values. They work on their mindfulness practice and better ride the waves of their emotions. They start to expand their ability to tolerate these experiences for longer times and more frequently. With gradual expansion of their tolerance they can learn to be present, with their feelings and emotions, and develop greater emotional regulation.

Now, I find clients telling me that they are able to accept their anxious thoughts and they don't try to push them away any longer. The shame associated with not being able to rid themselves of these overwhelming thoughts is leaving them. They are coming to be at peace with the struggles that they have in their lives. It doesn't mean they accept that they want to have these feelings, but they are a part of their lives. They don't have to allow the experiences to rule their lives. As one client said, she has learn to be. Her emotional breakdowns are few and far between and when they happen, she can find her peace more quickly. She has learned to accept herself and is committed to a better future. I encourage you to explore ACT to help your clients with their emotional dysregulation and roller coaster of emotions. They will learn to embrace the ride on their way to a better future.

If you need activities, guided imagery, visual supports, and worksheets to help with using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, check these out below:

Includes the following collections...

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Counseling with Leigh Anne - a Teachers Pay Teacher store offering materials for mindfulness practice, expressive arts, and therapeutic approaches like ACT/CBT.