How can acceptance and commitment therapy help with depression?

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a relatively recent form of therapy that combines behavioral therapy with mindfulness and personal values work. ACT therapists believe that one reason people feel depressed is that they become so entangled with their stories about themselves (for example, “I’m a failure,” “I’m a loser,” “I’m too fat” or “I’m too shy to make friends”) that they lose track of their personal values and life goals. In addition, ACT practitioners believe that suffering is caused by our human tendency to fight against feeling uncomfortable emotions and experiences, and that these struggles, which also knock us off track in our lives, can be a source of significant stress.

For example, someone who feels that she is unattractive might say to herself, “I’m too plain to meet anyone who will want to be in a relationship with me,” and as she struggles with this difficult belief, she becomes depressed. An ACT therapist might help her learn to accept her anxiety about her attractiveness, understand that this is just a feeling and not an absolute truth, and encourage her to go out and socialize anyway, as a way to live in accord with the value she gives to being socially connected and active. ACT also uses meditation and mindfulness techniques to help people stay in the moment with their life experiences, rather than spin off into negative or unhelpful stories about what’s happen- ing, why it’s happening, what the event means about them, and so forth.

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