You may be waiting to feel better before taking steps toward the life you want.
Redeemed Mental Health
ACT Therapy in Newport Beach, CA
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps clients relate differently to painful thoughts and feelings while taking action toward what matters.
First, feel understood
When fighting your thoughts has become exhausting
Sometimes the harder you try to control a thought, feeling, memory, or body sensation, the louder it gets. ACT helps create a different relationship with inner discomfort.
The goal is not to pretend pain is fine. The goal is to stop letting pain make every decision for you.
What it means
What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)?
ACT helps clients notice thoughts and feelings without being controlled by them. Instead of waiting until discomfort disappears, clients learn to move toward values while making room for difficult internal experiences.
ACT is one of many evidence-informed psychotherapy approaches used to help people identify and change patterns that interfere with life.
- A therapy approach that builds psychological flexibility.
- A model that teaches acceptance, mindfulness, values clarification, and committed action.
- A way to change your relationship with painful thoughts rather than arguing with every thought.
- A practical approach used for anxiety, depression, trauma symptoms, chronic pain, substance use, and life transitions.
Is this right for me?
Who is ACT a good fit for?
ACT can help with patterns of avoiding feelings, conversations, memories, or responsibilities.
The work helps clarify what matters and identify small actions aligned with those values.
ACT teaches cognitive defusion, which helps thoughts become less controlling.
At Redeemed, ACT is grounded and usable. We help clients practice acceptance without passivity and change without self-punishment.
Talk with a clinician-owned team before you decide
A short call can help clarify whether PHP, IOP, Virtual IOP, individual therapy, or another level of support is the right starting point.
Clinical depth
How ACT builds psychological flexibility
ACT uses six core processes: acceptance, cognitive defusion, present-moment awareness, self-as-context, values, and committed action.
Clients learn to observe thoughts as thoughts, allow feelings without immediately escaping them, and choose behavior that lines up with values.
This can be especially useful when symptoms have made life smaller. ACT helps clients make meaningful movement even before everything feels resolved.
The Redeemed approach
The Redeemed approach to ACT
Redeemed may use ACT in individual therapy, IOP, PHP, Virtual IOP, or group settings. It pairs well with CBT, DBT, trauma-informed work, and dual diagnosis treatment.
The focus is not abstract philosophy. It is learning what matters to you and building the capacity to move in that direction with support.
Notice the struggle
We identify where fighting, avoiding, or controlling inner experiences has become costly.
Clarify values
Therapy helps name what matters in relationships, health, work, recovery, and identity.
Practice flexibility
Mindfulness and defusion skills help create space between a thought and a choice.
Take committed action
Clients choose realistic steps that reflect values, even when discomfort is present.
Questions
ACT FAQs
ACT and CBT overlap, but CBT often focuses more on changing thoughts while ACT focuses on changing your relationship with thoughts and taking values-based action.
Acceptance means making room for thoughts and feelings you cannot immediately control. It does not mean liking, approving, or giving up.
Yes. ACT can help clients stop organizing life around avoidance and begin moving toward meaningful action despite anxiety.
Yes. ACT can support values-based recovery, craving tolerance, and choices that align with long-term goals.
No. Values clarification is part of the work. You do not need to arrive with everything figured out.