To describe what self-as-context means, we can think of the mind as a canvas on which we paint thoughts. Or we can think of our mind as the sky and our thoughts and feelings as the weather. The sky is simply the place where weather occurs. It is not the storm, but the context where the storm occurs.

ACT helps the client move from thinking of themselves based on the content of their thoughts. For example, someone who has gone through a series of bad breakups and failed relationships may think of themselves as unlovable. They become fused with the thought, “I’m unlovable.” Committed action occurs at every point in ACT treatment, as clients can consider coming to therapy or coaching as one aspect of their committed action.

Committed Action

Committed action means “doing what it takes” to live by our values even if that brings up pain and discomfort. Both an EPA and LPA must be registered. An LPA can be registered at any time, but a personal welfare LPA will only be effective once the person has lost the capacity to make their own decisions. People who make an advance decision may wish to consider letting their family, friends and carers know about it. The team in charge of your treatment can't give your family information about you without asking you first. You can choose what they share. This is called giving consent.

Committed action is the most visible behavior change aspect of ACT since it occurs in the external world, in the here and now. Once clients have identified their values, they commit to taking actions that will allow them to live in alignment with those values. Our thoughts and feelings are transient events that don’t define who we are or control our actions. It's important that you know what happens to you when you're detained, what your rights are, and where you can seek help. An advance statement is a written statement that sets down a person's preferences, wishes, beliefs and values regarding their future care. It's not legally binding.

Acceptance

Being detained (also known as sectioned) under the Mental Health Act is when you're made to stay in hospital for assessment or treatment.

If you have to stay in hospital for treatment, you'll get what is called a care plan (sometimes called a treatment plan). The plan will say what's going to happen and you should say whether you're OK with it or not. That's called giving consent. You can always ask someone to help you with the decision. Our article on the Theory Behind ACT Therapy plays out the theory that underlies ACT: Relational Frame Theory. This theory explains the ACT focus on language quite clearly.The aim of ACT, in lay terms, is to create a rich, full, and meaningful life while accepting the pain that inevitably goes with it.

Our aim in ACT is to bring behavior increasingly under the influence of values rather than fusion or avoidance. A new set of criteria that makes it clearer when local authorities across the country will have to provide support to people, and aims to ensure a fairer national system which reaches those most in need Having identified our values, we know where we want to go in life, the direction we want to progress towards. We might set goals along the way.

Behavior analysis is a pragmatic discipline, and is persuasive because of the efficacy of its procedures, and not through explanation. Nonetheless, an explanation of how affective states ‘work’ can demonstrate that ‘Acceptance and Commitment’ is not only a byword for a set of psychotherapeutic procedures, but demonstrably also for a very simple procedure for mental hygiene, or the control of positive affect. This provides not only a new procedure for emotional control, but a validation of ACT as the most efficacious way for self-control. Why is it so hard to be happy? Why is life so difficult? Why do humans suffer so much? And what can we realistically do about it? No matter how rewarding your job, as a mental health professional, you may sometimes feel helpless in the face of these questions. You are also well aware of the challenges and frustrations that can present during therapy. They'll come into action when the court needs to delegate an ongoing series of decisions rather than one decision. I’ve read several books on ACT, and this one stands out as the most concise and usable one. In addition to distilling ACT down to its essential components, it provides clinical transcripts and worksheets galore to help you jump right in to the ACTion.