How traditional therapies are different from ACT

Are you looking for more support or help, like therapy? Which therapy approach is a good fit to meet your needs and preferences? You might like psychological flexibility training and think acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is the one for you. Or you’re considering another therapy model. So, let’s talk about how traditional therapy approaches, like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or insight-based therapy, tend to focus on treating painful thoughts and feelings as problems to address. Whereas ACT takes a different approach, focusing on your life and what matters most.

Treating thoughts and feelings as things to fix

Traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy approaches often view the mind as a machine, with thoughts and feelings as separate parts of the system. If something feels “off,” the goal is to fix those parts, like repairing a broken computer.

Therapists who work from this perspective often try to help you repair these thoughts and feelings by analyzing, challenging, replacing, or changing them. They may also try to help you understand what caused them. For instance, if you think, “I’m not good enough,” the therapist may explore why you feel that way or try to challenge that thought directly. They may also label the thought negative, dysfunctional, distorted, or irrational.

While this approach can seem helpful, it can also cause problems that make life more difficult. It can make you feel like there’s something wrong with you, like you’re broken. That there are right and wrong or good and bad thoughts. And you must arrive at the correct way of thinking to move on. It can also lead you to believe things like:

  • “I can’t be happy until I fix myself.”
  • “My life will start when I feel better.”
  • “I’m weak because I’m struggling.”

When you see your painful thoughts and feelings as broken parts of you, problems to solve, you might spend all your time and energy trying to fix, change, or get rid of them, which can pull you into the past to analyze your problems or into the future to plan solutions instead of focusing on living your life right now (Hayes et al., 1999).

The problem with needing insight before you move forward

Insight-based approaches help you make sense of or understand why you think or feel the way you do, which can feel comforting in the short run. But it can also send the message that you need to understand your problems before you can move forward, as though you can change or fix the past that only exists in your head. For example, if you’re feeling stuck, you might think, “I need to figure out why I feel like this before I can do anything else.”

The problem is that chasing those “why” answers can keep you stuck. You might wait for everything to feel just right, like “I’ll start exercising when I feel better” or “I’ll focus on my goals after I stop feeling anxious.” You might also wait until you know why you feel like you do. But those moments may not always come, and life passes by. Even if those moments do come, relief or feeling better often doesn’t last long, and knowing why doesn’t change the past. When you tie your actions to conditions like “I need to feel better first” or “I need to know why,” you delay the things that matter most to you that you can otherwise do right now (Harris, 2009).

Focusing too much on fixing or figuring out your past pulls you out of the present, making it hard to live in the moment. You might find yourself replaying old memories or worrying about the future instead of being present, here and now. For example, if you’re always thinking, “I can’t enjoy life until I figure out what’s wrong with me or what happened,” you miss out on what’s happening today.

This mindset can also create frustration because even if or when you do figure things out or feel better, new problems often pop up. It becomes an endless cycle: you’re always chasing answers or waiting for the next breakthrough or good feeling before you allow yourself to move forward (Hayes et al., 1999).

Why action matters more than insight

Here’s the good news. You don’t have to wait until you feel better or until you know why to start living your life now. Taking action based on your values—what really matters to you—can help you move forward, even if your thoughts and feelings are painful. For example, if interacting with family enjoyably is important to you, you can go to a baseball game or have dinner with them at your favorite restaurant, even if you feel anxious or sad. By doing so, you’re choosing to live your values instead of letting your thoughts and feelings dictate your actions.

Research shows that taking meaningful action instead of trying to fix or control your thoughts or feelings is key to creating real change. This doesn’t mean ignoring your thoughts and feelings; it means not letting them run the show. By staying present, you can take small, meaningful steps toward living the life you want instead of waiting for the “right” time or the “perfect” circumstances (Harris, 2009).

How ACT shifts the focus and keeps you in the moment, moving toward what matters

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) looks at things differently. Instead of treating painful thoughts and feelings as problems to fix, get rid of, or not have, ACT encourages you to accept them for what they are, just thoughts and feelings, and where they are, just inside you. They don’t have to stop you from living the life you want.

ACT focuses on your whole life and broader patterns of behavior, not just specific problems, challenges, or difficult situations. This doesn’t mean you’re ignoring them. They’re acknowledged but placed within the bigger picture of what matters most to you. For example, if anxiety is making it hard for you to pursue loving relationships, ACT won’t try to eliminate your anxiety. Instead, it will help you take action to connect with others, even if the anxiety is still there. The goal is to help you live in alignment with your values, like loving compassionately, connecting caringly, or working effectively instead of waiting until you feel “ready” or “fixed.”

ACT prioritizes action. It asks, “What kind of life do you want to live, and how can you take steps toward it right now?” This shift in focus helps you live in the present moment and act in ways that reflect your values. Staying in the present doesn’t mean ignoring painful thoughts and feelings that show up in a situation. It means learning to experience them without letting them control you.

To be candid, ACT isn’t easy. Living your values requires hard work and a willingness to face discomfort. You’ll be asked to step into challenging situations and face thoughts and feelings you might have avoided. But this hard work isn’t just for the sake of suffering. It’s for something much bigger, the direction you want to take your life.

ACT helps you identify your values, which are like a compass guiding you toward the life you want. Whether your values include building strong relationships, helping others, or pursuing creativity, the therapy focuses on taking meaningful actions aligned with those values. This approach can help you create a fulfilling life, even when things feel hard.

ACT isn’t about pretending that life is easy or that painful thoughts and feelings will disappear. It’s about learning to carry that painful stuff with you while taking steps toward the life you want to live. By focusing on what truly matters to you and taking action in service of your values, ACT helps you break free from the cycle of chasing solutions and start living more fully—right here, right now.

Related readings

  1. Psychological flexibility training overview
  2. How to flex your mind under stress with psychological flexibility
  3. How to make my education successful and more effective

References

  1. Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and commitment therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
  2. Harris, R. (2022). The happiness trap: How to stop struggling and start living. (2nd ed.). Boulder, CO: Shambhala.
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