Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT is a therapeutic approach that was developed in the late 80s by American psychologist Dr Stephen Hayes. It is a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy that aims to help individuals lead richer more meaningful lives through changing the way that they relate to their emotional experiences and connecting them with the things that are most important to them (their values).

ACT focuses on the ways in which our attempts to avoid or control our emotional experiences often create more distress and suffering for us as humans. As such, one of the central goals of therapy is to help individuals develop the skills to tolerate difficult thoughts and emotional experiences, rather than struggling with, or avoiding, them.

ACT has a significant, and expanding, evidence-base, demonstrating its effectiveness as a treatment for a range of different clinical conditions. It has also been widely adopted by professionals working in the coaching and mentoring sectors, for use with non-clinical populations.

ACT has been successfully adapted for use with Children and Young People. The youth model of ACT is known as DNA-V, which refers to the three different skill areas developed through the approach: the Discoverer, the Noticer and the Advisor (with the ‘V’ standing for Values). This model also incorporates elements of Positive Psychology; the study of how individuals flourish and achieve their full potential.

The emphasis of DNA-V is on helping young people to thrive through creating deeper, more meaningful connections with themselves, others and the things they really care about in life. It promotes ‘psychological flexibility’, i.e., the ability to respond flexibly to different situations and to change behaviour that is not contributing positively to our well-being.

DNA-V is used internationally in individual and group therapy for young people and is also gaining popularity for use in educational settings.

References:

Harris, R. (2006), Embracing Your Demons: An Overview of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Psychotherapy in Australia, vol 12, no. 4.

To find out more about ACT, visit:

What’s New | Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (contextualscience.org)

To find out more about DNA-V, visit:

DNA-V Model of Psychological Flexibility | DNA-V International (dnav.international)