Chapter 7: The Power of ACT
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ACT can’t help everyone with everything of course – no therapy or approach can. But the research so far shows it’s helped many people with challenges like anxiety, depression, psychosis, chronic pain and panic. ACT has also been found to help children learn better, help businesses thrive, help Olympic athletes excel and help therapists become more resilient.
ACT isn’t just used in the western world either. ACT has been used to help refugees to cope with the tremendous challenges they face, and with communities that urgently need ways to deal with the outbreak of dangerous epidemics that align with their culture.
Why does ACT seem to help with such a diverse range of problems and situations? The answer – because in theory, and according to the research, ACT should work wherever the human mind goes. And the human mind goes in many different areas!
ACT is called a ‘trans-diagnostic’ approach, meaning it focuses on core processes that may cause issues for humans, and it helps people to overcome these issues.
This is useful to know, because if you find ACT helps with a particular challenge in your life, you may want to continue using the skills you’ve learnt to prepare for future challenges too. In this way, you can continue to reap the benefits.
Having said this, people seem to find ACT particularly beneficial when they’re feeling stuck. That’s because ACT goes from trying to fix your thoughts and feelings, to kindly accepting them. And maybe this radically different approach is what’s right for you, too.
Can you Drive?
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If you’ve learnt to drive a car with a manual transmission (stick shift), you know that you’re not just able to drive the car you learnt in – you can drive pretty much any car.
Every car has a seat belt that you know how to wear. It has a steering wheel you know how to use. And it has indicators, brakes, an accelerator and so on.
Once you’ve learnt the core skills of driving, you can drive any car. And you can drive pretty much anywhere in the world too. You’ve got the skills!
However, that doesn’t make you the best driver in the world. The more you practice, train and get feedback, the better you get. If you just drive without awareness, that’s dangerous. You need to stay awake, open and engaged - driving in the right direction.
In the same way, once you’ve learnt and practiced the six core skills of ACT, you can learn to apply ACT to every area of your life – ACT can work wherever your mind goes.
