Are you interested in trying out different types of addiction therapy in Georgia? Family-owned Athens Addiction Recovery Center is located in the same town as the University of Georgia, and it specializes in LGBTQ-friendly and comprehensive outpatient addiction treatment programs that include lifelong continuing care. As a sister facility to Serenity Grove Recovery, it also offers access to many types of therapeutic care for addiction, including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
ACT is a form of behavioral therapy that teaches clients to accept rather than avoid challenging situations in their lives. ACT has been proven as an intervention that enjoys great success in the reduction of a variety of mental health issues, including substance use disorders. If you’re looking for ACT in Athens, GA, contact Athens Addiction Recovery Center today. Call 844.959.4998 or reach out to our team online.
What Is ACT?
ACT encourages clients to embrace their thoughts and feelings, rather than fighting them or feeling guilty because they feel them. Conditions such as addiction, anxiety, and depression can all benefit from ACT, especially when it’s combined with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). ACT is a form of behavioral therapy that combines mindfulness skills with the practice of self-acceptance.
This type of therapeutic care develops the psychological flexibility of clients, as long as they’re committed to being more accepting of their thoughts and feelings. As mentioned earlier, in the case of ACT, clients commit to facing their problems head-on rather than avoiding what stresses them out. This helps those in recovery get ready to face challenges that may lie ahead.
How Does ACT Work?
Whether or not you undergo ACT in Athens, GA, it works the same way. ACT has six core processes that guide a client through therapy and provide a foundation for developing psychological flexibility. These six core processes of ACT include the following:
- Acceptance: This is an alternative to the client’s instinct to avoid thinking about how negative, or potentially negative, their experiences are. It is the active choice to allow unpleasant experiences to exist, without denying or trying to change them.
- Cognitive defusion: This process involves techniques intended to change how the client reacts to their thoughts and feelings. ACT doesn’t intend to limit exposure to negative experiences, but rather to come out the other side with a decreased fixation on negative memories of them.
- Being present: This can be understood as the practice of being aware of the present moment, without judgment clouding the current experience. In other words, it involves experiencing what is happening without trying to change it.
- Values: In the context of ACT, values are the qualities the client chooses to work toward in any given moment. ACT helps the client by providing tools to help them live their life following the values they hold dear.
- Committed action: Finally, ACT aims to help the client commit to actions that will assist in their long-term goals. Positive behavior changes cannot occur without awareness of how a given behavior affects the client.
ACT is not that different from other forms of behavioral therapy. It simply emphasizes acceptance instead of avoidance, which is what makes it stand out among similar types of therapeutic care.
Ready to Learn More About Athens Recovery’s ACT Option?
Are you searching for addiction therapy options in Georgia? Contact Athens Addiction Recovery Center today by calling 844.959.4998 or reaching out to our team online. We can help you find the right addiction treatment program to address your needs, and we offer a variety of therapies, including ACT. Get started on the path to recovery today through highly effective evidence-based treatment in our center.
