Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Fort Walton Beach

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, also known as ACT therapy, is an action-based therapy. It combines cognitive behavioral therapy and traditional behavior therapy to help clients accept their emotions.

The fight against emotions, whether in the form of denial, guilt, avoidance, or another manifestation, can keep a person stuck. By accepting the emotion, vulnerability, and pain, we can stop fighting and move on with our lives.

Therefore, acceptance and commitment therapy aims to help clients learn to accept their emotions, tolerate them, and then commit to making the necessary changes to improve their lives despite their emotions.

How Was ACT Therapy Developed?

ACT therapy has been around since the 1980s. Suffering from panic attacks, psychologist Steven C. Hayes (professor at the University of Nevada) committed to accepting himself and his experiences.

He believed that all emotions were valid and needed to be accepted. He did not attempt to avoid or devalue what many might call “negative emotions.” His journey through acceptance, mindfulness, and committing to values led to what has become ACT therapy.

Who in Fort Walton Beach Can Benefit from ACT Therapy ?

With ACT therapy at Krueger Wellness Institute serving Fort Walton Beach, ACT therapists help raise clients’ awareness, so they become more aware of their thoughts and self-talk. With the help of an ACT therapist, Fort Walton Beach clients can increase their awareness of how they think and feel about traumatic events, challenging relationships, and other issues affecting their daily lives.

Acceptance

As stated earlier, ACT therapy’s primary focus is acceptance. By learning to accept thoughts and feelings, clients can move on to the next stage. This does not entail rejecting those thoughts and feelings, but rather moving beyond them despite them. ACT behavioral therapy service Fort Walton Beach clients intends to stop people dwelling on and fighting with the past. Instead, it helps them to accept it, and then start developing more confident and optimistic behaviors.

With commitment and the help of a Krueger Wellness Institute ACT therapist serving Fort Walton Beach, our clients can break destructive cycles and habits in favor of behavioral changes that should lead to a happier, healthier future.

By developing a client’s emotional awareness and openness, we can help them align their thoughts and behaviors with their goals and values.

Cognitive Defusion and Mindfulness

After awareness and acceptance of negative thoughts, comes distancing oneself from one’s thoughts. Creating this distance allows people to interrupt their usual patterns and behaviors. Those who want to change how they react will benefit from practicing distancing themselves from their distressing thoughts and feelings.

Of course, this is easier said than done. That is why our ACT behavioral therapists are integral to this process. We have tried-and-tested techniques to help you or your loved ones create distance between upsetting thoughts and how you feel.

With our gentle help and time, you can learn to observe your thoughts, acknowledge them, let them go, and change them at will. Our ACT behavioral therapists have plenty of techniques to help our clients achieve and sustain this level of attainment in ACT therapy.

Identifying Values and Aligning Behaviors

As Steven C. Hayes observed, values are integral to building and committing to a happier, healthier future. ACT behavioral therapy typically spends significant time and energy identifying personal values and aligning behaviors with them.

Values are even more like compass points than individual goals. When you know your values, decision-making becomes clearer.

Suppose your primary value is kindness. In this case, you can ask yourself if any action, behavior, or thought, is kind. The answer will tell you whether it aligns with your values. Consider any decision you are making, consider whether an option is kind, and there you have inherent guidance.

While values are powerful, people tend to have them without awareness. Identifying and choosing values, therefore, makes the way you go through life more deliberate and purposeful. When you choose values that speak to you, you may find that your life is more meaningful and fulfilling.

Commitment

The final stage of ACT therapy is forging commitment. Having taken the previous steps with our diligent ACT therapists, clients take charge of their thoughts and emotions, and supercharge their decision-making. They develop the ability to accept past trauma and make positive decisions that affect their futures.

Krueger Wellness Institute’s ACT therapists are licensed and experienced to take clients through the journey of ACT therapy. We do so safely and effectively. Our years of experience, deep knowledge of mental health, compassion, and dedication to helping our clients achieve their goals make us your go-to destination for ACT therapy. Contact our Fort Walton Beach ACT therapy team to schedule an appointment.

We also have ACT therapy sessions available for clients living in Destin, Niceville, and Bluewater Bay.

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