Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a type of behavioural therapy that blends mindfulness with self-acceptance. ACT interventions support learning how to cope with life's challenges and strengthen overall psychological flexibility.
At Boreal Therapy Collective, we offer ACT to help people experiencing various mental health concerns, including depression, anxiety disorders, low self-esteem, trauma, chronic pain, intrusive thoughts, obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance abuse, and more.
For ACT, book with:
D’Arcy Arseneau
Lyndsy Stevenson
How Does ACT Work?
ACT assumes that people are naturally capable of strengthening their psychological flexibility. Strongly rooted in mindfulness principles, ACT focuses less on controlling or even changing your circumstances and more on embracing your experiences and taking meaningful actions that align with your values. In other words, it isn’t about trying to change how you feel. It’s about owning your feelings and making greater meaning out of them.
Consider this: it's normal to want to suppress or deny your painful emotions. They feel uncomfortable! But doing so can actually make the emotional discomfort more intense. The same thing applies to difficult life situations. Although it's tempting to ruminate over the past or fixate on what might happen next, there's something to be said about just sitting with what's happening right now. ACT helps build these mindfulness muscles. Increasing your capacity for mindfulness can make you feel more empowered and regulated.
The truth is that emotional pain is simply unavoidable. No matter how much you try to make good choices, you will face some tough times. This is what it means to be human. ACT differs from other modalities in the sense that your therapist won't try to reframe your pain or actively reduce it. Instead, you'll learn how to strengthen your self-acceptance and feel more inner peace regardless of what's going on in life.
What Happens During ACT Sessions?
At its core, ACT emphasizes acceptance as a significant part of reducing psychological suffering. An ACT-based therapist will integrate some or all of the following interventions into your treatment:
Identifying your values: ACT therapists believe that emotional discomfort can arise when you act in ways that don't align with your core values. Identifying and clarifying your values is an important part of living more congruently and authentically - this is a big component of ACT.
Cognitive defusion: Cognitive defusion focuses on showing you that thoughts are just thoughts. They are not literal truths, and they do not inherently need to predetermine any specific actions. This, in turn, can reduce negative thinking patterns and help you break difficult behavioural patterns. For example, cognitive defusion focuses on reframing phrases like, I'm completely depressed! to a more external phrase like, I am experiencing intense depressive symptoms right now. Such cognitive shifts can help you broaden your perspective and even embrace more neutrality.
Self as context: This idea is rooted in honouring that you have a unique, special identity. You are also more than just your symptoms, feelings, or thoughts, and none of those have to inherently dictate your actions or personality.
Commitment to action: Commitment to action focuses on acknowledging which actions move you closer to your values and which ones bring you further. Knowing this can orient your goal-setting and help you build a rich and meaningful life.
Present moment contact: ACT focuses on enjoying the virtues of the here and now through various mindfulness exercises. The more you can be mindful, the less anxious you will likely feel.
Is ACT Right for You?
Acceptance and commitment therapy can be a standalone model, but it also integrates well with other modalities, including cognitive-behavioural therapy, narrative therapy, and EMDR.
Ultimately, ACT can be helpful if you:
experience distressing thoughts or feelings that feel difficult to manage
feel directionless in life (or you often feel like you keep making the "wrong choice")
learn toward experiential avoidance (avoiding situations or places that make you feel anxious)
find it difficult to stay in the present moment
want to embrace more holistic approaches to managing your mental health
feel ready to take committed action that aligns with your values and needs
want to improve your capacity for managing stress (even if you can’t change your circumstances)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Fort McMurray
How to Start Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Beginning therapy with Boreal Therapy Collective is easy and requires no referral. You can book your initial assessment here.
Understanding Length of Therapy and Treatment
Your first appointment will be 90-minutes long. For all future appointments, you can choose to book for 1 hour or 90-minutes. During your first appointment, your therapist will ask you questions to better understand you and your areas of struggle. This is known as an assessment. Depending on how much you share, the assessment phase can last anywhere from one to three appointments. The assessment is critical. It helps you and your therapist understand your goals, and it helps your therapist develop a treatment plan to support you in achieving these goals.
After the assessment is complete, treatment begins! In the treatment phase, you will be introduced to a variety of skills to practice and implement to better manage your symptoms. Most people will have a therapy session every two weeks, and we recommend this for optimal treatment. Effective therapy typically takes somewhere between six to twelve appointments (for some more, others less). Many choose to continue therapy once formal treatment is complete. This is referred to as maintenance. People who do this typically have an appointment once every six to eight weeks. This is not a requirement and is a matter of personal choice.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy at Boreal Therapy Collective
Where We Are Located
We’re located at 8530 Manning Avenue, Unit 104. You’ll find us in the Service Canada building (on the side of the building that faces the Clearwater River). To check out our space, click here.
Parking is located at the front and back of the building. The front parking lot is closer to us but tends to fill up quickly. There is also an empty dirt lot adjacent to our office that many use for parking. If you park at the back (where Service Canada is located), you can walk around the building to reach our office. To learn more about parking, click here.
Importantly, you do not need to be in town for treatment. We offer in-person and virtual therapy and our therapists are happy to provide whatever option works best for you!
Rates & Benefit Coverage
Initial assessments are billed at a rate of $330.00 for a 90-minute appointment. Follow-up sessions are billed at a rate of $220.00/hour or $330.00/90-minutes (you can choose your preferred appointment length when booking).
Our social workers offer direct billing to 25+ benefit providers. Many benefit providers will cover a portion or the whole amount of your therapy session. With your consent, we will always direct bill your benefit provider first. Please note that our Registered Psychiatric Nurses are typically ineligible for direct billing.
If we are unable to direct bill, you can pay via email money transfer or credit card. You will be given a receipt once payment has been collected. For more information on benefit coverage, click here.
