He had a history of panic attacks and eventually decided he didn’t want to run from them anymore. He committed to accepting himself and these experiences.

He laments that “we as a culture seem to be dedicated to the idea that “negative” human emotions need to be fixed, managed, or changed – not experienced as part of a whole life. We are treating our own lives as problems to be solved as if we can sort through our experiences for the ones we like and throw out the rest.”

He concludes that acceptance, mindfulness, and values are important tools that are needed for transformation. This has been proven true over the years as these ideas morphed into treatment methods and ultimately began helping people. It’s these ideas that professionals focus on when going through acceptance and commitment therapy training.

It’s also these ideas that make this approach to therapy different from other commonly used methods. When using ACT-based treatment, one main assumption is made: suffering is normal.

Not only is it normal but also expected. No one can get through life without suffering of some kind, and things become easier when we accept it. This idea suggests that it’s possible to experience pain, anxiety, sadness, and other hardship and still live a fulfilled and meaningful life. This counters some philosophies that insist you must eradicate pain and hardship to be happy. ACT helps you understand that you don’t need to get rid of pain entirely before you can feel happy and content.

Core Principles

Women’s acceptance and commitment therapy may look a little different from person to person, but there are six core principles it follows:

• Cognitive defusion: this is the act of detaching from negative thoughts and inner experiences and relating to them differently.
• Mindfulness: remain connected with the present moment and avoid obsessing over and focusing on the past. This also helps you identify specifically how your emotions are affecting you, and where you’re feeling them, physically.
• Acceptance: allow yourself to experience thoughts and feelings without trying to avoid or change them. Learn to manage and live with them and react in a healthy way.
• Self-understanding/observation: learn how to take a step back and react to and reflect on things rather than putting yourself in a box. When you can observe yourself with no judgment, it can make changing negative habits and thinking patterns easier.
• Values: what are your most important values and how can you live according to them?

Action: you’ll learn how to commit to taking proper action with ACT for women’s empowerment and personal growth.

Acceptance and commitment therapy may have a concrete set of ideas and goals, but everyone is still different. This is why your therapist will do an acceptance and commitment therapy assessment and choose activities and exercises that they believe will benefit you.

For example, ACT for anxiety and depression may look different than ACT for self-compassion – it all depends on what you need. The following are a couple of examples of acceptance and commitment therapy exercises you may be encouraged to try:

• A visualization exercise will help you create and visualize a place where you feel safe and peaceful. You’ll then examine your thoughts and feelings as you go to this place. You’ll work on brainstorming and creating ways you can use this visualization practice on your own, outside of sessions.
• Acceptance and commitment therapy defusion. Defusion is where you detach from inner thoughts and patterns and recognize the negative ones. You’ll then learn how to manage these thoughts and take control of them, rather than accepting them as truth and operating in their negativity.

There are many more acceptance and commitment therapy exercises where these ones come from. The ACT therapy techniques you use will depend on yourself, your personality, your past, and many other factors.

Because acceptance and commitment therapy has so much to do with your thinking patterns, mindset, and outlook, it’s no surprise that mindfulness is deeply connected. In addition to the regular acceptance and commitment therapy exercises and worksheets, you’ll also work on various ACT mindfulness practices.

These are designed to keep you focused, centered, and motivated:

• Deep breathing. Many breathing exercises can help you achieve certain goals and mindsets. Some examples include box breathing, lion’s breath, and breath focus. You can work on these with your therapist and also practice them on your own.
• Yoga and meditation. These activities are offered at our facility and are available to everyone. Breathing and breath work is often a focus of these practices, and they’re designed to help keep your mind calm, centered, focused, and motivated. This is also a great way to practice acceptance and commitment therapy for anger.
• Group mindfulness. In addition to individual therapy, we also facilitate many group therapy sessions. There are many proven benefits to this, and mindfulness can also be practiced in a group setting. Sometimes, it feels more natural to close your eyes and focus on breathing when everyone around you is doing it, too. Group mindfulness may also take on other forms of meditation, such as standing or walking.

When treating substance abuse and addiction, we like to take a whole-body, holistic approach. This is why meditation, yoga, and other mindfulness practices are so prevalent in our program. We want to give you the best chance at long-term success with mental, physical, and emotional healing. ACT for emotional well-being is a crucial part of an acceptance and commitment therapy program.

Regardless of the ACT therapy techniques used in your particular treatment plan, we’re confident that this method of therapy will help you see success. It’s also only one of many treatment methods and techniques we use. Our staff is well-trained in a great variety of therapies, and ACT is known to complement and work well with many others.

Our peaceful and private recovery center is located in Northumberland County; a convenient drive from both Ottawa and the GTA. We want to offer top-notch acceptance and commitment therapy for men and women from all over, and from all walks of life!

Regardless of gender, age, circumstance, or struggle, our rehab program has something for all. We’ve created a program that accepts both men and women. We believe this is the best environment for individual to heal and recover from sensitive issues such as substance abuse and addiction.

We accept individuals who seek help at any given time, for an average stay of about 30-45 days. While here, you’ll receive a wide variety of personalized treatments and therapy sessions, while enjoying the enriching facility we’ve created.

We also have staff and support workers on hand 24/7, meaning you’ll never be without attention, support, and medical treatment as needed. This is one of the many benefits of enrolling in our residential program. Other benefits include privacy, community, detox support, trigger management, and more.

If you have any questions about our treatments and overall program, please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time. We’re happy to offer as much help and guidance as we can as you decide whether our acceptance and commitment therapy is right for you or someone you love.

Lastly, we also offer a full range of holistic therapies including acudetox. Our other mindfulness, holistic activities include:

• Yoga
• Meditation
• Journaling
• Art therapy
• Access to nature
• Access to workout equipment
• Motivational speakers
• And more

Adding these things along with acudetox treatments offers incredible benefits to your mental and physical health in addition to complementing your treatment. Our staff receives top-notch acudetox training to ensure they give you only the best sessions with the highest chance of long-term success.