Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is an approach to counselling that uses principles of mindfulness and acceptance. Clients learn to cope with negative thought patterns not by controlling or fighting them, but by taking notice and accepting them. Negative thoughts are inevitable, but they do not define us.
Clients learn to separate their essential selves from their moment-to-moment thoughts and experiences. We all have a habit of seeing our negative thoughts as part of us. If we learn to create a sense of distance between our selves and our experiences, we can make better choices about how to let them affect us.
The processes involved can be described through the acronym ACT:
Accept your reactions and be present
Choose a valued direction
Take action
