Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Stop Fighting Your Thoughts. Start Living Your Values.
ACT helps you make peace with what's hard — not by ignoring it, but by learning that painful thoughts don't have to control your life.
The Harder You Fight a Thought, The Louder It Gets
You've been told to think positive. To challenge the negative thoughts. To stop feeling anxious, stop being sad, stop worrying. And maybe you've tried — really tried. But the thoughts keep coming. And now you're exhausted AND still struggling.
ACT takes a different approach. It doesn't ask you to win the war against your own mind. It asks: what if you stopped fighting? What if you let the anxious thought show up, thanked it for trying to protect you, and did the thing you care about anyway?
That shift is what ACT is designed to teach. Not how to feel better. How to live better — even when the hard thoughts keep coming.
The ACT Framework
Six Core Processes for Psychological Flexibility
ACT was developed by Dr. Steven Hayes and is grounded in decades of behavioral research. Its framework can feel abstract at first, but each piece translates into practical skills:
Acceptance
Making room for painful feelings instead of fighting them. Not because you like them — because fighting them makes them stronger.
Cognitive Defusion
Stepping back from your thoughts and seeing them as thoughts — not facts, not commands. "I'm having the thought that I'm a bad mom" is very different from "I'm a bad mom."
Present Moment Awareness
Coming back to right now, instead of living in past regret or future worry. Most suffering happens in time-travel.
Self-as-Context
Noticing that you are the one observing your thoughts — not your thoughts themselves. You're the sky, not the weather.
Values
Clarifying what actually matters to you — not what should matter, what does. Your values become your compass when the feelings get loud.
Committed Action
Taking steps in the direction of your values, even when your mind is screaming at you not to. Small actions. Again and again.
Tired of fighting your own mind? Schedule a Free Consultation →
What ACT Treats
Conditions ACT Is Highly Effective For
Anxiety & Worry
Anxiety thrives on avoidance. ACT breaks that cycle by teaching you to welcome anxiety as a signal while still doing what matters — the opposite of what anxiety demands.
Depression
Depression often comes with "I'll do things when I feel better." ACT flips that: you take values-based action, and the feeling follows — not the other way around.
Chronic Pain & Illness
When the pain isn't going anywhere, ACT helps you stop fighting the pain itself and start building a meaningful life around it. Massive research base for chronic conditions.
Infertility & Perinatal Grief
Some experiences can't be fixed, only walked through. ACT gives you tools to stay present in hard seasons without collapsing into them.
Perfectionism & People-Pleasing
When your behavior is driven by avoiding what you fear, ACT redirects it toward what you value. Smaller life lived in fear becomes a full life lived in meaning.
Life Transitions
Big changes raise big questions: who am I now? what matters? ACT's values work is built for exactly these moments.
In Session
What ACT Therapy Actually Looks Like
ACT sessions are experiential. You're doing, not just talking. You might:
- Practice a mindfulness exercise to notice thoughts without attaching to them
- Do a values clarification worksheet to identify what actually matters to you
- Try cognitive defusion techniques like singing a difficult thought or saying it in a silly voice
- Explore what small committed action you can take this week in service of your values
- Notice and name when you're "fused" with a story about yourself
If you're someone who's read every self-help book and still feels stuck, ACT might be the shift you need. It doesn't give you more information — it gives you a different relationship to the information you already have.
ACT at Lotus Rose
Our Therapists Use ACT
All of our therapists are trained in ACT and incorporate it into their work — particularly for clients ready to stop fighting their thoughts and start living by their values. We can help you find the right therapist match.
Meet Our Therapists →Common Questions
ACT Therapy FAQs
What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)?
ACT is an evidence-based therapy that helps you develop psychological flexibility — the ability to stay present with difficult thoughts and feelings while continuing to live by your values. Instead of trying to eliminate painful emotions, ACT teaches you to make room for them and keep moving toward what matters.
How is ACT different from CBT?
CBT focuses on changing unhelpful thoughts. ACT doesn't try to change your thoughts — it changes your relationship to them. The goal isn't to feel better. The goal is to live better, even when you're struggling. That shift is subtle but powerful, and it's often the missing piece for people who 'understand' their problem but still can't change it.
What does 'psychological flexibility' mean?
Psychological flexibility is being able to stay present with what's happening — even uncomfortable thoughts and feelings — and still choose actions that align with your values. It's the opposite of being stuck. Research shows it's one of the strongest predictors of mental health, resilience, and life satisfaction.
What conditions does ACT treat?
ACT is evidence-based for anxiety, depression, chronic pain, OCD, substance use, eating disorders, workplace stress, and trauma. It's especially helpful for people who feel stuck despite 'knowing' what they should do — and for people dealing with chronic conditions where the pain won't go away but life still needs to move forward.
What happens in ACT sessions?
ACT sessions are experiential — you'll do exercises, not just talk. You might practice defusion (stepping back from your thoughts), do a values clarification exercise, or notice physical sensations without fighting them. Homework often involves taking small committed actions aligned with your values, even when the old feelings show up.
Take the First Step
Ready to Start Healing?
Your first step is a free 15-minute consultation. No pressure — just a conversation about what you're going through and how we might help.
Serving Orem, Provo, Lehi, American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Lindon & surrounding Utah County. In-person and telehealth sessions available.