Embrace Your Values: A Guide to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Act)

Treatment can be different for every different client. Sometimes people may want to erase all their struggles and move away from their diagnosis. This frame of mind may be harming your overall progress. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) teaches you to accept your reality and the symptoms of your mental illness. Once you can accept that some things are a part of life that you can not change, you may feel it easier to work through these feelings. West Coast Recovery Centers integrates ACT into our treatment plans to help you accept what can't be changed, and commit to the things that you want to reach.

ACT has been shown to lower the intensity of depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. Being able to gain control over your thoughts as you learn to accept them will help you respond more calmly to things that happen around you. Commitment toward goals will also allow you to work to stay on the path of recovery. As you identify your values, you can start to build a life around them. 

What Is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)?

ACT treatment follows the belief that pain, suffering, anxiety, and depression are a part of human life that we must accept. It teaches people to adapt to these challenges by developing greater psychological flexibility. Trying to employ ways to stop these feelings may fail and make the feelings worse. Instead, the focus is on acceptance. One way that this is done is by working to accept these feelings. As you pursue the things that you want in different areas of life, accepting these feelings will give you the ability to work through and around these feelings of frustration that may come with mental health.

This therapy gives you the skills that you need to accept the things around you. It then encourages you to find the things that you want in life. Following this, you can commit to working toward these values. Giving you the strength of acceptance allows you to work with your feelings instead of trying to remove them from your life. Once you can stop fighting to remove things that you may not be able to, you will be able to work on committing to your future.

The way that ACT helps you to control your mental health is by finding the areas of your life that you want to commit to working on. As you look at your values and think about the life that you want to live, you can commit to these goals and work toward them. Accepting the way that your mental health is will encourage you to grow in mental strength. Having goals that you are committed to will keep you on the path to recovery. 

ACT Effects on Mental Health Treatment

This type of treatment has been seen to have more positive effects on mental health care. People who struggle with their mental illness may find themselves able to handle more stressors after treatment. You will be able to handle your reactions to stressors after doing ACT treatments. ACT works to teach you to develop greater psychological flexibility. This helps you be able to handle the difficulties that may come with mental health. Once you can accept what's happening with your feelings and thoughts, you can learn to work around them. 

When someone struggles with mental health, they are at a higher risk of falling behind because of their struggles. Mental illness can affect people's progress in work, schooling, and life. ACT treatment can help set your focus back on the things that you care about, and maintain a positive focus. Having something to work toward is the greatest indicator of someone who will not give up. It means that you will maintain positivity as you go throughout life. 

Treatment at West Coast Recovery Centers

We can integrate ACT treatment into our clients' treatment plans. Our individualized treatment will give you the tools you need to work through your struggles catered specifically to you. We can meet you where you are, without judgment or worry. Being able to make a personalized treatment plan means that we can access where you are now and help you formulate a plan for where you want to go. 

Utilizing ACT can teach you the skills that you need to maintain control over your life. Our providers work to teach you how to accept the things that you can not change relating to your mental health. If you struggle with your feelings, it can be harmful to try and seek a life outside of them. Accepting your thoughts and feelings and utilizing treatment to teach you the path forward is an effective way for us to help you manage your mental health. ACT gives you the focus on the future, and the ability to strengthen yourself in the present.

If you struggle with managing negative feelings, ACT treatment may help you. As you work to accept the fact that negative feelings are a part of life and something that you cannot change, you will gain the power to work with these feelings. ACT encourages you to commit to different areas and values in your life, making plans for the future that you work through. Both of these things combined will give you control back over your life and mental health. If you are interested in learning more about how ACT can work for you, West Coast Recovery Centers can help. Call us for more information today at (760) 492-6509.