Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is another type of CBT intervention. ACT focuses on helping individuals accept their thoughts and feelings rather than fighting or avoiding them. It combines aspects of mindfulness and behavioral therapy to promote psychological flexibility — the ability to be open, adaptable, and effective in the face of life's challenges. The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety or uncomfortable emotions, it’s to help you stop letting them make decisions for you.
You might benefit from ACT if you…
Spend a lot of energy trying to feel “okay” before doing the things that matter to you
Know what matters to you but struggle to actually live in line with it
Frequently judge yourself for having certain thoughts or feelings
Have lost sight of what you actually want because you’re focused on what you should want
Feel like you’re waiting for the “right time” to start living your life
Feel disconnected from your values, relationships, or sense of purpose
What does the research say about virtual therapy and treatment outcomes?
There have been many studies exploring the effectiveness of virtual therapy on symptom reduction, most of which have found virtual therapy to be as effective as in-person. A large meta-analytic study (a study that combined the results of many different smaller studies to get a clearer and more reliable result) compared clinical interventions delivered via videoconferencing with those delivered in-person. Overall, they found that in-person and virtual interventions produced similar outcomes. Given the effectiveness, virtual therapy is here to stay!
