What Is Acceptance
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In 2013, my husband was involved in ACT therapy at the VA Medical Center. ACT is short for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. I have a background in social work and am familiar with most therapies, but had never heard of this one, so I decided to do some research.
Although it is based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, it differs because it does not focus on changing your thoughts, but rather noticing and accepting them, even the negative thoughts. ACT was developed in the late 1980's and the results have been rigorously analyzed and found to be effective in treating depression, anxiety, chronic pain, as well as other disorders.
The core principles of ACT are as follows:
As I read over these core values, it struck me that it is not much different from what spiritual teachers over the ages have tried to tell us. Sometimes, when spiritual truths are studied and developed into a psychological model of treatment, it takes the “woo-woo” factor out of it. Many people are more receptive to a therapist teaching them skills of mindfulness and acceptance, than sitting down with a spiritual guru or reading spiritual books.
But in truth, all of these ideas have been around a long time. There is nothing new in this “new” therapy. Examples:
“Everything changes once we identify with being the witness to the story, instead of the actor in it.”
Ram Dass
“This being human is a guest house. Every morning is a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor...Welcome and entertain them all. Treat each guest honorably. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.”
Rumi
“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
Lao Tzu
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” Henry David Thoreau
Well, that is just a sample of the wealth of knowledge available to us already, without the need of a therapy that basically says the same thing. Still, therapy is a good tool to be used if it can help someone actually incorporate these concepts into their life. My husband seemed to find it very helpful.
Although it is based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, it differs because it does not focus on changing your thoughts, but rather noticing and accepting them, even the negative thoughts. ACT was developed in the late 1980's and the results have been rigorously analyzed and found to be effective in treating depression, anxiety, chronic pain, as well as other disorders.
The core principles of ACT are as follows:
- Cognitive defusion: Learning methods to reduce the tendency to identify with thoughts, images, emotions, and memories.
- Acceptance: Allowing thoughts to come and go without struggling with them.
- Contact with the Present Moment: Mindfulness of the here and now, experienced with openness, interest, and receptiveness.
- Observing the self: Accessing a transcendent sense of self, a continuity of consciousness which is unchanging.
- Values: Discovering what is most important to one's true self.
- Committed action: Setting goals according to values and carrying them out responsibly.
- Source:Wikipedia
As I read over these core values, it struck me that it is not much different from what spiritual teachers over the ages have tried to tell us. Sometimes, when spiritual truths are studied and developed into a psychological model of treatment, it takes the “woo-woo” factor out of it. Many people are more receptive to a therapist teaching them skills of mindfulness and acceptance, than sitting down with a spiritual guru or reading spiritual books.
But in truth, all of these ideas have been around a long time. There is nothing new in this “new” therapy. Examples:
“Everything changes once we identify with being the witness to the story, instead of the actor in it.”
Ram Dass
“This being human is a guest house. Every morning is a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor...Welcome and entertain them all. Treat each guest honorably. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.”
Rumi
“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
Lao Tzu
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” Henry David Thoreau
Well, that is just a sample of the wealth of knowledge available to us already, without the need of a therapy that basically says the same thing. Still, therapy is a good tool to be used if it can help someone actually incorporate these concepts into their life. My husband seemed to find it very helpful.