Guest guest Posted April 12, 2004 Report Share Posted April 12, 2004 Has anyone found a significant benefit from seeing an ACT therapist? I have found a few in the Seattle area where I live. I have the Happiness Trap and Get Out of Your Life...and I feel like I'm making some progress, which is why I'm interested in pursuing ACT. I'm seeing a cognitive therapist now and I feel like I'm not making that much headway. So are the books and this group enough or can a therapist accelerate healing? Thanks a lot, Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 How does one find an ACT therapist. I am located in Minnesota. Thanks. DylanA Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 I'm seeing an ACT therapist. He uses ACT but also other things. His primary approach I would say is definitely ACT, he has done training with S. and has read all the books, including The Happiness Trap. I was honestly shocked at how dramatic my progress was with an ACT therapist. I think what has been most helpful is his willingness to allow me to call him when I get into trouble - my biggest problem is using ACT to feel better, rather than using ACT to feel what I am feeling. Honestly, I thought I would be calling him every day, but now it's usually about once a month (plus the weekly in person sessions). I have been in therapy off and on my entire life, it never seemed to do any good. With this ACT therapist it feels like a class on how to behave... like I am attending a lecture. I'm not saying he talks the entire time, but when he does I learn a great deal. Don't get me wrong - the work is NOT easy and I certainly have plenty of bad days where I am doing ACT all day long and more or less getting nowhere, and I feel like the pain and fear will never ever end, but then I also have these amazing days where I just live my life, and I haven't been able to do that in years. I'm going to a party on Saturday, for example, and I'm actually looking forward to it. At the beginning of this year there is no way on earth I could have gone to a party. The other thing is drugs - they are amazing for many people but simply not the right choice for me, I have health issues that would be severely affected if I took drugs. This ACT therapist is the first one I have seen who does not push drugs on me. In our first session I told him that drugs could not be an option and he was fine with that and through all the horrible panic attacks and horrible horrible symptoms I have had he has never wavered on this point. This is huge for me, as no other therapist has signed on to my " clean living " value the way this guy has... This raises an interesting point, really. All those other therapists pushing drugs on me were dismissing one of my major values - to stay away from drugs - to live a sober life. And it did feel like a dismissal - like I didn't have a say in how I chose to live my life. The wonderful thing about ACT is you decide what your values are - you know what is best for you and you act on it. Acting on a therapists instructions to take drugs made my anxiety so much worse because it was the exact opposite of what I valued and the exact opposite of what I wanted to do in that moment. Anyway, there is my two cents. Hi Bruce - Like you I was seeing a CBT. I showed her GOOYMAIYL. Thankfully, she told me she was not trained in ACT. She listened to me and suggested breathing, etc. Then I found an ACT therapist and she was able to help me dramatically. According to her I had the ACT concepts down pat but I was not using them correctly. She was able to help me immediately, even during the get acquainted session. Had I just relaxed and followed her instruction I would probably have only needed to see her two or three times. Because I like to make things harder than necessary it took about eight sessions. Now I see her only when I need to - the last time was three months ago. I strongly recommend you find an ACT therapist that will coach you on using the exercises. I've found it it very easy to get stuck when using ACT and quite difficult to get unstuck without help. Like the quicksand example - I don't need a hand. I just need someone to tell me to stop struggling so I'll float and be able to get out " by myself. " I hope you find someone you like. You are very lucky to have someone readily available. Bill To: ACT_for_the_Public From: onebnz@...Date: Thu, 29 Oct 2037 10:36:05 -0700 Subject: ACT Therapist Has anyone found a significant benefit from seeing an ACT therapist? I have found a few in the Seattle area where I live. I have the Happiness Trap and Get Out of Your Life...and I feel like I'm making some progress, which is why I'm interested in pursuing ACT. I'm seeing a cognitive therapist now and I feel like I'm not making that much headway.So are the books and this group enough or can a therapist accelerate healing?Thanks a lot,Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Hi Dylan - Here's a link to how I found my therapist http://www.contextualpsychology.org/therapist_referrals Bill To: ACT_for_the_Public From: DMan1956@...Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:05:30 -0400Subject: Re: ACT Therapist How does one find an ACT therapist. I am located in Minnesota. Thanks. Dylan A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 I'm in Minnesota, too, and I'm suprised there are so few ACT therapists listed in the directory. My DBT therapist is big on ACT and has steered me to it, but I wonder how much more effective it would be to actually have an ACT therapist. L. Subject: Re: ACT TherapistTo: ACT_for_the_Public Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2008, 6:05 PM How does one find an ACT therapist. I am located in Minnesota. Thanks. Dylan A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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