Acceptance: an ACT skill for relating differently to difficult thoughts
Acceptance from ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) is a gentle skill that helps you relate differently to difficult thoughts and feelings, so they have less control over how you live your life.
Free to try · Responses are private & encrypted
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What does the Acceptance Mini Course cover?
Why fighting difficult feelings often makes them stronger, what acceptance means in ACT and what it does not, non-judgemental awareness, how acceptance helps in everyday life, practising it through mindfulness, and simple acceptance statements to use.
Who is this Acceptance Mini Course for?
Helpful if you:
🥊 Spend a lot of energy fighting your thoughts and feelings
🚪 Avoid situations to escape uncomfortable emotions
🌿 Want a different way to relate to difficult feelings
For therapists:
Assign this course when experiential avoidance is maintaining a client's difficulties. Their list of avoided emotions and chosen acceptance statement give material for willingness and defusion exercises in session. Fully HIPAA and GDPR compliant.
Dr Harriet Mellotte
Clinical Psychologist & CBT Therapist, BABCP
“Offload is a fantastic resource for both clients and therapists. The world of CBT has been lacking an app which enables the sharing of CBT worksheets and homework tasks between clients and therapists, but Offload completely does this, making the service we offer more professional and the benefits to clients greater.”
Frequently asked questions
What does acceptance mean in ACT?
In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, acceptance means allowing thoughts and feelings to be present without fighting, suppressing or trying to change them. It is not liking what you feel or giving up; it is dropping the struggle so that difficult experiences take up less of your energy and have less control over what you do.
Why does fighting my feelings make them worse?
Trying to avoid or push away difficult thoughts and emotions, which ACT calls experiential avoidance, brings short-term relief but tends to amplify them over time and shrinks your life as you avoid more situations. Acceptance breaks that cycle by changing your relationship with the feeling rather than the feeling itself.
How do I practise acceptance?
Mindfulness is the main route: noticing thoughts, feelings and body sensations with curiosity and without judgement. Simple acceptance statements help too, such as I allow this feeling to be here or I am willing to feel this and still do what matters. The course gives you several to try.
Can my therapist assign this course?
Yes. Therapists on Offload can assign Acceptance when experiential avoidance is maintaining a client's difficulties, and your list of avoided emotions and chosen statement give material for willingness and defusion exercises. Your responses are available for them to review beforehand. Fully HIPAA and GDPR compliant.
Are you a therapist?
Assign this therapy tool and 200+ other interactive tools directly to your clients. Build personalised care plans, customise tools, and review client responses before sessions. HIPAA and GDPR compliant.
Explore Offload for therapistsReferences
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An Experiential Approach to Behavior Change. Guilford Press. A-Tjak, J. G. L., et al. (2015). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy for mental and physical health problems. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 84(1), 30–36. Gloster, A. T., et al. (2017). The empirical status of acceptance and commitment therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 6(2), 181–192.
