Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Orange County, CA

In the western world (even more specifically here in Orange County, CA), we are often taught to avoid emotions. If we experience a negative experience, we handle it and move on. Push it down and take care of what is here and now.

From a young age, we learn “real men don’t cry,” we are told to keep a “stiff upper lip,” or even more bluntly, to “get over it.” Sometimes they are necessary in the moment but may also belie a deeper issue: instructions to suppress our true emotions. Rather than confront and deal with our feelings, we are encouraged to push them down.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) encourages an individual to truly accept and reflect on past experiences, using those emotions to help inform their current situation and allow them to begin to heal.

While there are different approaches to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, traditionally three steps of the process include acceptance, direction, and action. Instead of avoiding negative emotions, accepting a situation and its challenges can allow you, as an individual, to develop or adjust your behavior. This allows for adjustments in attitude that open the door for transformation and change.

Acceptance

Often, an individual recovering from a traumatic event will be told to be strong and move on. As a society, we are so often taught to say that we are “fine” even when we are in pain and suffering greatly.

Emotions are not something that need to be fixed. Experiencing emotions—good and bad—are part of living a full life. As an individual, it is normal to feel a full range of emotions. Repressing emotions can lead to further suffering. By accepting a situation and dealing with the emotions it evokes, an individual can begin to adapt and change their behavior and move to a place of acceptance and change.

Direction

Rather than beating yourself up for feeling a negative emotion or letting a negative thought creep into your subconscious, through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy an individual is taught to take that thought and redirect it. Individuals develop an approach to move ahead, focused on positive emotions and feelings. While the trauma or challenge is present, there are many positive aspects to the current situation. Consider those emotions and bring them to the forefront of your consciousness.

Action

Use the redirection to shift your negative experience into something positive. By changing your focus from negative you positive, individuals can build resiliency, allowing them to overcome past and future obstacles.

Being mindful of our emotions through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can be therapeutic and, often, through counseling an individual can learn to better consider the full range of their emotions and feelings, allowing a more positive attitude to begin to permeate their subconscious.

Life is full of ups and downs. How you or your loved one handles the tough times can have a drastic effect on your mental health. Lido Wellness Center is here to help when you feel that your life has become overwhelming and unmanageable. We are a partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient mental health facility that is located in beautiful Newport Beach, California.

We will provide you or your loved one with an individualized treatment plan that will be focused on treating the whole person. Our holistic and comprehensive mental health approach will allow you to regain a healthy outlook on life. How we think, how we feel, and how we behave are all linked to our emotional and physical health.