Using Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help our patients get in touch with their “inner compass” again

I frequently see unhappy folks, adults and children, who are more excessively “outer compass” based. They are great at following the thinking and values of others. They are great at conforming to parental and societal expectations. They are great at achieving “outer harmony”, usually at a price of inner disharmony and unhappiness.

It’s hard to live a life that is untrue to self, and not based on one’s principles and values.

When helping these folks, we can take the Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach to help them get in touch with their “inner compass” again, to find and create more “inner harmony”. It’s a balancing act of course between the inner and outer compass. Life is a tough gig for sure.

Identifying one’s values and taking committed actions towards those, are often not taught well at schools or primary care.

Maybe it should perhaps.