Acceptance as a Therapy
September 5th 2022
While most of us try everything we possibly can to help ourselves overcome trauma, emotional issues, grief etc… We often overlook one of the most common types of therapy that has been around since the early 1980’s.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or commonly known as ACT therapy was created back in 1982 by Steven C Hayes, who combined Cognitive therapy with Behavioral Analysis.
According to Wikipedia, The objective of ACT is not elimination of difficult feelings; rather, it is to be present with what life brings and to “move toward valued behavior”.[6]: 240 Acceptance and commitment therapy invites people to open up to unpleasant feelings, learn not to overreact to them, and not avoid situations where they are invoked. Its therapeutic effect aims to be a positive spiral where a greater understanding of one’s emotions leads to a better understanding of the truth.[7] In ACT, “truth” is measured through the concept of “workability”, or what works to take another step toward what matters (e.g. values, meaning).
Why is this important to you? Because in life, there are some things that we have no control over and no matter how hard we try, with a Licensed Counselor, a Doctor, a Psychiatrist and yes even a Hypnotherapist too, you may never be able to fully rid yourself of an unwanted behavior, feeling, emotion or trigger response. While it does not happen all the time, it does happen and so the best possible outcome for someone with this sort of problem or situation going on in their life, is to move towards acceptance therapy.
3 Reasons I use Acceptance in my Practice
NOTE: While I am not an ACT certified practitioner, I do teach a sort of acceptance policy in my work. There are many reasons I do this. I will list them below so you can see why they might benefit you, if you are feeling stuck in some capacity.
- When we create acceptance around a situation or a problem, we are giving ourselves a way out. Not because we cannot work through something, but because perhaps, now is not the time to resolve this problem for ourselves. Once we have created acceptance around something, it no longer has the mental, emotional or psychological hold over us it once had.
- I teach my clients to LOVE all the parts of themselves. Even the parts that are creating problems. Meaning, that part of you stepped into your life at a critical juncture, and it did so to protect you somehow. So it came to be of service to you, not to hurt you. However, as our conscious mind and subconscious mind often do, they create a coping mechanism or an avoid distract mechanism which was meant to make you feel better, but it got it wrong somehow. It is your responsibility to face that part and to get it to understand how you want it to work for you, instead of against you.
- When we can learn to love all the parts of ourselves, and the problems we sometimes create for ourselves, we can learn to move beyond the past and our mistakes and to give ourselves grace. Don’t we all deserve a little grace from time to time? Let me help you find that grace, love and self acceptance within you. YOU DESERVE IT!
There are many practitioners trained in ACT therapy and if you feel that is the right path for you to do your own personal work then I highly suggest you look into finding someone with those credentials. However, if you are looking for ways to love, accept and resolve your own problems with my help and your subconscious minds help, then Hypnosis might be the right therapy for you. That is why I offer a free 30 minute consultation to see if my process is a good fit for you. If it isn’t then no harm, no foul. You tried and now you can move onto something else. Feel free to schedule that consultation on my SCHEDULE CONSULT NOW Button. Know that I tailor my work around each and every client to give them the best possible outcomes in helping them help themselves.
