Understanding ACT · 04 / 04
The Foundations of ACT
Relating more openly to what is going on inside you – and acting more deliberately in the direction of what matters to you.
ACT is best understood not as a rigid procedure, but as a model of several psychological processes that together foster flexibility.
PsychologicalFlexibility
Being in contact with what is happening right now without being needlessly dominated by it – and being able to direct your own behaviour so that it fits the situation at hand and your personal values.
Not
- always being calm
- always thinking positively
- having no anxiety
- controlling thoughts
But
- noticing
- opening up
- gaining distance
- orienting
- acting
The six core processes
Six interconnected skills that together make up psychological flexibility – not a step-by-step plan, but an interplay.
- 1
Acceptance
Willingness to notice even unpleasant inner experiences when fighting them isn't helpful.
- 2
Cognitive Defusion
Recognising thoughts as mental events, rather than having to react to them automatically.
- 3
Values
Chosen qualities and directions for how you want to live and act.
- 4
Committed Action
Concrete steps, habits and decisions in the direction of those values.
- 5
Self-as-Context
Developing the perspective from which thoughts, feelings and self-stories can be noticed without them defining your entire identity.
- 6
Present Moment
Flexibly bringing attention back to the here and now.
Not a six-step programme.
The processes interlock, rather than being worked through one after another.
I want to raise a boundary in a relationship.
Thought: “Then I'm being selfish.”
Feeling: Uncertainty
Several processes can then be relevant at the same time:
Defusion
noticing the thought
Acceptance
allowing the uncertainty
Present moment
staying in the conversation
Values
honesty / self-respect / connection
Action
stating the boundary respectfully
Self-as-context
not fusing completely with the story “I'm selfish”
Three larger movements
This grouping is one way of looking at the model that makes it easier to grasp.
Being open
Acceptance + Defusion
Giving thoughts and feelings room, instead of fighting them or letting them run the show.
Being present
Present Moment + Self-as-Context
Noticing what is really happening right now – from a stable perspective.
Doing what matters
Values + Committed Action
Acting in the direction of what genuinely matters to you.
“Accepting” doesn't mean “approving”.
Acceptance can mean:
“This uncertainty is here right now.”
Resignation would be:
“Then there's nothing I can do anyway.”
ACT links acceptance precisely with deliberate action – not with passivity.
Values are not goals
Goals and values are often confused in everyday life. The difference lies in how each behaves over time.
Goal · done
Value · can be lived again and again
Run a marathon.
Health, endurance, self-care.
Have a difficult conversation.
Honesty, connection.
Goals can be achieved. Values describe a direction in which behaviour can be realigned again and again.
Mindfulness is a means, not an end in itself.
It's not about being perfectly present or relaxed all the time.
Mindfulness helps you notice what is actually happening before you react automatically.
The relationship to thoughts
“I mustn't make a mistake.”
Question 1
Is this thought true?
Question 2
What happens if I let this thought completely determine my behaviour?
ACT is often particularly interested in the second question – in function and context, not only in whether a thought is true.
What this can look like in counselling
Not a rigid protocol, more like recurring movements:
noticingunderstanding patternscreating distanceclarifying valuestrying something outreflecting
These elements rarely follow a fixed order and often come up several times in different forms.
What ACT is not
- “Just think positive.”
- “Accept everything.”
- “Ignore your problems.”
- “Meditation as the answer to everything.”
- “Just do what feels good.”
ACT also doesn't mean that every difficult situation can be solved purely through your own inner attitude.
Counselling vs. psychotherapy
ACT comes from a psychotherapeutic and behavioural-science context.
What I offer is psychological counselling and coaching based on ACT principles.
No: diagnosis · medical treatment · psychotherapy
Further reading
You don't have to feel different first in order to act differently.
Berlin · Online · English & German
Understanding ACT
- 01Why ACT?
- 02History
- 03Relational Frame Theory
- 04Foundations