Bringing ACT into Therapy: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Flexibility and Vitality

By Megan Porath, MSW Candidate

Therapy is a safe space to explore your thoughts, emotions, and goals; ACT skills can help you make the most of that space.

In my previous posts, I shared how learning to be present, open up, and do what matters helped me rediscover creativity and reconnect with what truly mattered in my life. These same skills can be applied directly in therapy to deepen insight, build new habits, and move toward meaningful change. The key is using your sessions as both a laboratory and a playground for experimentation.

Bring Presence to Your Sessions

Being present in therapy means showing up with attention and curiosity: noticing your thoughts, emotions, and body sensations in the moment. Some ways to practice presence with your therapist might include:

• Start sessions with a brief check-in. Notice your current mood, physical sensations, or stress level and share what you observe.

• Observe patterns in real time. When certain topics trigger strong reactions, pause and notice what’s happening inside rather than immediately reacting.

• Try in-the-moment mindfulness exercises. For example, your therapist might guide a grounding or breathing exercise to help you stay focused on the here and now.

  
  

The more you practice noticing your internal experience in session, the easier it becomes to carry that awareness into everyday life.

Practice Opening Up

Therapy is a safe place to explore difficult thoughts and feelings. ACT encourages acceptance — allowing experiences to be present without judgment or avoidance — and defusion — learning to step back from unhelpful thoughts. Here are some ideas of how you may bring this into your work with a therapist:

• Step back from and label your thoughts. Try saying, “I’m noticing I’m thinking X” when discussing worries, self-criticism, or fears. Your therapist can help you notice patterns and explore alternatives without feeling trapped by your thoughts.

• Notice your emotions. Instead of pushing feelings away, describe them to your therapist. Where do you feel them in your body? How intense are they? This helps develop awareness and acceptance.

• Experiment with willingness. Your therapist might encourage you to explore situations you usually avoid, and suggest small steps toward accepting discomfort while acting in line with your values.

  
  

Opening up in therapy strengthens your ability to engage fully with life outside of sessions, even when emotions feel uncomfortable.

Connect with Values and Take Committed Action

Therapy is a place to clarify what matters most to you and to create steps toward living in alignment with those values. Here’s how you might integrate values and committed action into sessions:

• Identify your values together. Ask your therapist to help you articulate what really matters in your life, whether it be relationships, creativity, health, integrity, or growth.

• Set small, achievable goals. Break larger values into specific actions. For instance, if connection is a value, an action might be sending a thoughtful message to a friend or scheduling a time to meet.

• Review and reflect. Discuss with your therapist what worked, what felt challenging, and what can be adjusted. Celebrate small steps, and explore obstacles with curiosity rather than self-criticism.

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By regularly linking therapy conversations to your values, sessions become a practical rehearsal space for meaningful living.

Reflection Between Sessions

ACT emphasizes practice outside of therapy, so consider journaling about experiences of presence, acceptance, and values-aligned action. You can also practice defusion exercises of noticing and labeling thoughts throughout the day. You may also try tracking small, committed actions that reflect your values, and make note of obstacles or wins along the way. You can bring these reflections into your next session to deepen insight and collaboratively problem-solve with your therapist.

Reflection Questions

• How could noticing your thoughts and emotions in real time change your experience in therapy?

• What feelings do you tend to avoid, and how might exploring them with your therapist help you grow?

• What small values-based actions could you try before your next session?

• How might reviewing them with your therapist support your progress?

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References

Harris, R. (2019). ACT made simple (2nd ed.). New Harbinger Publications.