Emotion regulation in acceptance and commitment therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) offers an alternative to traditiona l psychotherapies designed to regulate affect. ACT is based on the premise that normal cognitive processes distort and enhance the experience of unple asant emotion, leading clients to engage in problematic behaviors designed to avoid or attenuate those unpleasant emotions. Such avoidant behavior pat terns can hinder and prevent client movement toward valued goals and place the client in harmful situations. Rather than work working to change cognit ions or decrease levels of emotion, the ACT approach involves the client di rectly experiencing problematic emotions in a context in which the literal functions of language enhancing the negative implications of those emotions are stripped away. The focus throughout the treatment is facilitating the client's movement toward a more valued and personally fulfilling life, in a context in which previously obstructive unpleasant emotions no longer serv e as obstructions. A case study is provided to illustrate some of ACT's cor e techniques. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons.