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Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): make room, then move.
You can argue with a worry for years and still hear it every morning. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) takes a different route: you learn to make room for what is hard and still move toward what matters to you. Erin L. Smith, MSPC, LPCC, LPC can combine ACT with CBT and other methods, meeting people in Georgetown, KY or over telehealth throughout Kentucky, Arizona and Minnesota.
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Why fighting a feeling can keep it close
When something hurts, the natural move is to push it away: argue with the worry, distract from the grief, avoid whatever sets off the discomfort. In the short run that can bring relief. Over time, the struggle itself can take up more and more room, and the list of places, people and conversations you avoid can grow. ACT does not ask you to like what you feel. It asks a practical question instead: is the fight with this feeling working, and what is it costing you? Answering that honestly is where the work begins.
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Seeing a thought as just a thought
ACT calls this defusion. A thought like 'nothing ever works out' can feel like a plain description of reality. Defusion practices put a little space between you and the thought, so you can see it for what it is: words and images your mind produces. You might label it as 'the thought that nothing works out', name a familiar story when it shows up again, or say it slowly until the words sound like words. The thought may still visit. The aim is that it stops making your decisions for you.
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Willingness and the present moment
Acceptance in ACT is closer to willingness than to liking. It means letting a feeling be there without spending all your energy pushing it out, the way you might let a wave pass instead of bracing against it. Present-moment attention supports this. Instead of living in the replay of yesterday or the rehearsal of tomorrow, you practice noticing what is here now. ACT also points to the part of you that does the noticing, a steadier vantage point than any single thought or feeling. These skills overlap with mindfulness-based practice, which Erin also uses.
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The commitment in acceptance and commitment therapy
The commitment half is about direction. Values are the qualities you want your life to stand for, such as honesty, presence with family, faithfulness or courage. Unlike goals, they are never finished. They work more like a compass than a finish line. Committed action means taking small, concrete steps in that direction, even when anxiety, grief or doubt comes along for the ride. A step can be as modest as making one phone call or staying at the table a little longer. You and Erin agree on what the steps are.
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How ACT and CBT work side by side
CBT often asks whether a thought is accurate. Some thoughts, though, do not respond to evidence. Intrusive thoughts, anxious what-ifs and the ache of grief tend to return however well they are answered. ACT offers another route: unhook from the thought and act on your values anyway. With Erin, ACT can be part of work on OCD, where the aim is making room for discomfort instead of bargaining with it, and on anxiety. It can also suit grief and stress that has dragged on. She explains which approach she is suggesting and why.
ACT may fit if
- Arguing with your thoughts has not worked
- Avoiding discomfort is costing you real things
- You have lost sight of what matters
- Grief or worry will not simply resolve
ACT is one option among several, and the choice is made with you.
Questions
Common questions
- Does acceptance mean giving up?
- No. In ACT, acceptance is not approval of what happened and it is not resignation. It means you stop spending all your energy fighting a feeling, so some of it is free for action in the direction of what you value. Change is still the point. Acceptance is how you make room to move.
- What is ACT used for?
- ACT is used for a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, obsessive-compulsive patterns, grief and long-running stress. With Erin, it is one tool among several, chosen for your situation and used only if you agree to it. The free 15-minute consultation is a good place to ask whether it fits.
- Is there practice between sessions?
- ACT usually includes something small to try during the week, such as noticing a sticky thought and naming it, or taking one step toward a value. What you practice, and how much, is agreed with Erin, not assigned, and if it is not helping, the plan changes.
In Erin's words
What she would say if you called today.
We will start with what matters to you and set goals together in words concrete enough to act on. I will always tell you what I am using and why, and I will ask you plainly whether it is helping. When something is not working, we change the plan.
Free 15-minute consultation
Book a consultation with Erin
Fifteen minutes by telehealth, at no charge. You can describe what is going on, ask how Erin works, and decide afterward whether to book a first session. Scheduling opens in her secure SimplePractice portal.
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