fbpx

What is ACT & Briefly on Medication

Welcome to Brisbane ACT Centre’s first ever blog post. I thought I’d talk in a less formal way about “What is ACT” and how we integrate with medication use in psychological problems. Firstly, off the bat, I personally reckon that “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy” – the underlying model for our work here at Brisbane ACT Centre – is a pretty awful name for a fabulous approach. But it is a name which just happens to make for a great acronym – ACT!

Okay, better break down what I mean by that: Acceptance can easily sound like tolerance, like simply putting up with feeling anxious, depressed or in pain, which is not at all what we mean. The acceptance part of ACT is about learning specific, easy to practice, evidence based and self-compassionate mindfulness skills to better handle difficult experiences so they’re less likely to be an obstacle to living your life. We’re not asking you to want, or like feeling lousy but we might ask – how long have you struggled to get rid of those feelings? And how successful has that been, long term? And what has it cost you? Skilled ACT therapists can teach you simple ways to be more present in the moment, to simply notice to your worrisome thoughts “as thoughts – not as truths or untruths“, to experience difficult feelings as manageable sensations, and do what matters in your life, in this moment and the next.

Commitment might come across as “having to do things, or forcing yourself”, again, not at all what we mean. See what I mean, great name hey? The commitment part of ACT is more about learning to be a little more aware of what you care about in life. From tiny things like chilling out, eating a bit more healthily, to bigger ones like relationships and work, and becoming a little more able to make small moves, day by day, toward these things. Our values are like a direction on a compass, and small goals are like towns along the way, letting us know when we’re heading where we wish to go. Having a skilled navigator to help us choose our directions and having a great support team to encourage and check up on our progress, can help us along the way. That’s the therapist or coaching role in ACT.

ACT may seem new to many, but really has a 70 year pedigree. ACT simply integrates the best evidence-based practices of decades of behavioral and cognitive research and treatment in an ongoing, ever developing and improving therapy. This includes a scientifically grounded, pragmatic approach to the use of medications.

We recognise that all medications may have benefits and harms, and we’re very careful with informed consent and wise use. It surprises many people to hear that psychiatric medications don’t “fix chemical imbalances” but may take the edge off difficult feelings by causing imbalances – yet this is well known and long proven, and is not unusual with drugs – paracetamol doesn’t help my headache or fever by fixing a paracetamol imbalance, but it can certainly be helpful in certain situations, and less in others. Same for psych drugs. See this recent article also here and this related blog post for more on disproven medication beliefs and their unintended consequences. For more on how ACT therapists relate to medication use, stay tuned!

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is at heart about workability. Being where you are, and doing what matters in your life. We use any and all ways to help you with this, and we research these scrupulously, test our assumptions, try to find out where we are wrong, and continuously improve. In only the 9 short years I’ve been learning and practising ACT, our approach has deepened, with even more self-compassion focus, briefer and broader applications, more neuroscientific support, and an exponentially growing clinical and research community. Welcome again to Brisbane ACT Centre, and to our blog.

With heart.

Rob
Dr Rob Purssey
MBBS FRANZCP
Psychiatrist and ACT Therapist

New Psychologist Spotlight: Gary Fernandez

We're excited to announce we have a new psychologist joining our team!

Gary is a passionate, conscientious and deeply kind psychologist that we're lucky to have join us, and excited for him to get to work helping our clients get unstuck, move towards their goals and take valued action.

In this article Gary's answered our questions about what he's like as a psychologist to work with, and coming next month we've interviewed Gary about the overlap of philosophy and eastern spirituality with modern ACT science.

Read More
5 Reasons Why Accessing Therapy via Telehealth May be Right For You

When you hear or read the word ‘Telehealth’, it may conjure up images of floating heads on computer screens trying to clumsily connect with one another and endless technological frustrations. Instead, I invite you to imagine sitting on a comfortable couch in your home, wearing your slippers on those cooler days in a judgement-free zone, or stroking your beloved pet as they keep you company in the home office.

Read More
Trauma Does Not Have to be a Life Sentence

In an ideal world every child will be nurtured, loved and protected. Unfortunately, as my news feed keeps reminding me, we don’t live in an ideal world, the world is not a fair place and numerous children encounter adverse and even traumatic situations far too early in life. These highly traumatising life events may involve […]

Read More
Get in touch

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Preferred Contact Number

    Your Message

    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

    Address
    7 Marie Street, Milton
    Brisbane, QLD 4064
    Phone
    07 3193 1072
    Social
    Opening Hours
    Monday, Thursday, Friday:  8:30am-5:30pm

    Tuesday & Wednesday: 8:30am-9pm
    (receptionist available until 6pm).