What is the tug of war in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?
Nour El Ali, a psychologist at The Valens Clinic, explains ACT with a picture. Imagine a game of tug of war. Your negative thoughts and emotions sit on one side of the rope, and your values and goals sit on the other. The thoughts keep pulling and try to get you to give up or move away from what you value.
ACT gives you skills to choose differently. Her post says you can pull back from the struggle and move forward in spite of the opposing force, which is the commitment in the name: committing to your values and goals even when it is difficult.
Why does pushing a thought away make it louder?
The post offers an everyday test. Try pushing a thought away or ignoring it, and watch what happens. It gets louder, and it can lead to reactions such as yelling at a loved one or lying in bed and skipping the things you enjoy.
ACT teaches skills to detach from a thought and accept it as it is, so the thought stops steering what you do. The post contrasts ACT with therapy which can sometimes encourage people to change or eliminate unwanted thoughts. Read the comparison as the author’s view. The clinic’s FAQ says a therapist may use more than one approach, so a single course of therapy need not follow one method.
What are the two ideas behind ACT?
The post names mindfulness and values-based living. Mindfulness means observing your thoughts and feelings without judgement, which the post says reduces the hold negative emotions have on behaviour and wellbeing. Values-based living means working out what matters most to you and planning a life in line with it. The post says values can increase motivation and life satisfaction.
Self-compassion also features. The post calls it a skill many people overlook, and says ACT makes room to slow down and care for yourself.
Who might recognise themselves in ACT?
The post describes people in a fast-paced society who hold themselves to high standards of self-efficiency and lose sight of their values. They end up committing to actions which run against their value system, it says, and feel unfulfilled and overwhelmed. You may recognise the description. The post never names Dubai.
The post links ACT to no single diagnosis. A fair guess: it suits someone who has already argued with a thought and lost. Treat it as a guess only, and let a clinician confirm the fit at assessment.
How does the clinic decide which approach you get?
The individual therapy page says clinicians have training in multiple evidence-based therapies, and the clinic’s system helps identify the most suitable clinician for each person. At the first appointment, the FAQ page says, you meet a mental health professional who assesses your needs and develops a personalised treatment plan.
The website does not say which clinicians practise ACT or how many sessions it takes. Ask the coordinator when you book, and ask your clinician whether ACT fits your situation.
Ask a Clinician Whether ACT Fits You
Every clinician at The Valens Clinic holds a licence from the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) or the Community Development Authority (CDA). To book, visit the individual therapy page, where you can see the clinic’s individual therapy specialists, or email info@thevalensclinic.ae.