Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in Glasgow

What ACT is and how it differs from CBT

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, pronounced as the word "act") is a modern, evidence-based psychological therapy that focuses on building psychological flexibility. Rather than trying to eliminate difficult thoughts and feelings, ACT helps you develop a different relationship with them, so they have less power over your behaviour and you can focus your energy on living a meaningful life.

ACT is built around six interconnected core processes that together support psychological flexibility:

• Present-moment awareness: learning to pay attention to what is happening now, rather than being pulled into worries about the future or regrets about the past
• Cognitive defusion: stepping back from unhelpful thoughts and seeing them as mental events rather than literal truths
• Acceptance: making room for difficult feelings and sensations instead of struggling against them
• Self-as-context: developing a broader sense of self that is not defined by any particular thought, feeling, or experience
• Values: clarifying what truly matters to you and what kind of life you want to build
• Committed action: taking concrete, values-guided steps, even in the presence of discomfort

While traditional CBT focuses primarily on identifying and changing the content of unhelpful thoughts, ACT is more concerned with how you relate to your thoughts. Both approaches are well supported by research, and your psychologist may draw on elements of both depending on what is most helpful for you.

What ACT can help with

ACT has a growing evidence base across a wide range of psychological and physical health difficulties. Our psychologists use ACT to help with:

• Anxiety: including generalised anxiety, social anxiety, and persistent worry
• Depression: particularly where avoidance, withdrawal, or a sense of being stuck feature prominently
• Chronic pain: ACT is one of the most well-supported psychological approaches for living well alongside persistent pain
• OCD: developing a different relationship with intrusive thoughts rather than being driven by them
• Adjustment difficulties: coping with major life changes such as health diagnoses, relationship transitions, or bereavement
• Work-related stress and burnout: reconnecting with values and building sustainable patterns of living
• Life transitions: navigating periods of uncertainty, identity shifts, or feeling directionless

ACT can also be valuable for people who do not meet criteria for a specific diagnosis but feel disconnected from what matters to them, or find themselves going through the motions. If you are unsure whether ACT is the right fit, your psychologist will discuss this with you when you first get in touch.

What an ACT session looks like

ACT sessions are collaborative and experiential. Rather than working primarily through worksheets or thought records, your psychologist will use a range of creative methods to help you connect with your experience and build new skills. These often include:

• Metaphors and stories: ACT uses vivid metaphors to illustrate psychological concepts in a way that is memorable and personally meaningful
• Mindfulness exercises: brief, focused practices that help develop present-moment awareness and acceptance
• Experiential exercises: in-session activities that give you a direct, felt sense of new ways of responding to difficult thoughts and feelings
• Values exploration: structured conversations and exercises to help you clarify what you care about most deeply and where your life may have drifted from those values
• Committed action planning: identifying small, meaningful steps you can take between sessions to move towards the life you want

Sessions last 50 minutes. How often you meet is agreed with your psychologist. ACT can be delivered as a focused course of therapy or integrated into a longer-term approach depending on your needs.

Our ACT-trained psychologists

Our psychologists are doctoral-level clinical psychologists registered with the HCPC, with training in ACT as part of their broader therapeutic skill set.

Dr Aisha Tariq, Clinical Director, uses ACT as a core part of her approach and has particular experience applying it across anxiety, mood difficulties, and adjustment to life changes.

View our team to find a psychologist who is the right fit for you, or get in touch and we will help match you with the most appropriate clinician.