ACT

ACTinAddiction utilizes ACT for the treatment of addiction. ACT is a scientifically based therapy that takes a fresh look at the reasons why so many of us are unhappy. It is based on 3 principles:

• mindfulness
• acceptance
• commitment

ACT belongs to, the so-called, third generation of behavioral therapies, which place decreased emphasis on controlling our internal experience, and offer a more eastern approach to our psychological lives.

While CBT is traditionally control based, ACT is acceptance, mindfulness and values based. Other third wave approaches include Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Behavioral Activation (BA), to name, but a few.

Prof. S.C.Hayes describes ‘Third Generation or Third Wave CBT (Hayes, S. C., 2004)’ as follows:

“Grounded in an empirical, principle-focused approach, the third wave of behavioral and cognitive therapy is particularly sensitive to the context and functions of psychological phenomena, not just their form, and thus tends to emphasize contextual and experiential change strategies in addition to more direct and didactic ones. These treatments tend to seek the construction of broad, flexible and effective repertoires over an eliminative approach to narrowly defined problems, and to emphasize the relevance of the issues they examine for clinicians as well as clients. The third wave reformulates and synthesizes previous generations of behavioral and cognitive therapy and carries them forward into questions, issues, and domains previously addressed primarily by other traditions, in hopes of improving both understanding and outcomes”.