JOIN THE ONTARIO CHAPTER OF ACBS

WELCOME

Welcome to Ontario ACBS, the official Ontario Chapter of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS),

Home to all those interested in the advancement of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)!

A BIT ABOUT ACT

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Acceptance and commitment therapy, or ‘ACT’ (said as one word) is a newer form of cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT.  There is a lot of research to suggest that ACT is helpful for a variety of things that we struggle with, including anxiety, depression, chronic pain, as well as life transitions and feeling ‘lost.”  In ACT, we don’t spend time trying to argue with, or dispute our thoughts, or get rid of, or change how we feel.  This is the ‘acceptance’ part of ACT.  We learn instead, to notice what is showing up inside, and approach it with curiosity and openness.  The ‘commitment’ part of ACT refers to figuring out what matters to each of us, getting a sense of our values, and doing things aligned with our values regardless of what thoughts and feelings show up.  This means that we can have thoughts like “I can’t do it,” and try anyway, taking the thoughts and feelings along for the ride.  In essence, once we truly ‘accept’ our thoughts and feelings,  stop trying to get rid of them, and make room for them, we are free to ‘commit’ to the things that matter to each of us.  The focus of ACT therefore is to build a life that is fulfilling and driven by values rather than trying to get rid of feelings or control thoughts.