ACT for life: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
ACT for life: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
ACT FOR LIFE is an audio programme based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which is a mindfulness-based approach shown to be effective with a range of clinical conditions.
The goal of this therapy is to help you create a rich and meaningful life guided by your deepest values and in which you are fully present and engaged.
ACT is firmly based in the tradition of empirical science, yet has a major emphasis on values, forgiveness, acceptance, compassion, living in the present and accessing a sense of self. It uses a mix of metaphor, paradox and mindfulness skills, along with exercises and values-guided behaviour experiments.
The aim of this programme is to help you develop emotional and psychological skills to support you in:
- Overcoming procrastination and completing study tasks;
- Starting and sustaining enjoyable relationships with your peers and friends;
- Discovering your valued and meaningful life while studying at University;
- Living a balanced and enjoyable life.
| Introduction |
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In this session we will show you how language and thought can undermine our ability to respond effectively in important areas of our lives.
| Session 1: Language creates conflict and suffering |
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In this session we show you that, although language and thoughts create obstacles in life, the solution to this problem is not to fix, avoid, replace or get rid of these problematic thoughts, but to pay attention to them in a different way. We will introduce you to an alternative to trying to gain control of your thoughts and feelings.
| Session 2: Action and experience versus thought and emotion |
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In this session, we ask you to learn and practise skills of emotional acceptance. This is in contrast to the usual approaches to difficult or unpleasant emotions which are to simply control, avoid or get rid of them, and it will help you develop skills that enable effective responses in demanding situations.
| Session 3: Acceptance and willingness |
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This session has the smallest amount of discussion material of any of the six chapters. And the reason for that is simple - mindfulness is something to do, rather than something to understand. The exercises in this section give you further opportunities to practice skills to enhance your moment to moment effectiveness.
Jon-Kabat Zinn, author of 'Coming to our senses: Healing ourselves and the world through mindfulness' says: "Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally." So when you are being mindful you are purposefully and deliberately using your attention, right now, without evaluating anyone or anything.
In Acceptance and Commitment Training, mindfulness helps you be aware of emotions and thoughts that you normally want to avoid, and it will help you get in touch with and hold onto the values and ideals that are most important to you. Our worksheets are a handy resource to help you through this session.
| Session 4:Mindfulness and being present |
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| More mindfulness audio resources for you to download and listen to at your pace |
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In this session we explore the why of what you do; your life purpose. It helps you identify your values which give your life meaning and vitality and the direction you wish to take your life. Again, there are some accompanying worksheets to guide your progress in this session.
| Session 5: Values and direction |
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In this final session we’re going to ask you to stop listening and take action. The purpose and direction you identify in session 5 will determine the action you need to undertake in order to travel in that direction. In this final session we provide you with practical tools and psychological skills to pursue the appropriate goals and actions for you. You might want to download our worksheet so you can come back to this session in your own time.
| Session 6: Committed Action |
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| Conclusion |
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