Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to Support Eating Disorder Recovery
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is one of the many approaches to psychotherapy, through which individuals look to accept their thoughts and feelings rather than denying them entirely. In particular, individuals who are actively engaged in eating disorder recovery may utilize ACT with a mental health professional to help reduce eating disorder behaviors and, ultimately, improve their relationships with food, body, and self-esteem.
What Is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?
Acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT, is a type of talk therapy aimed at helping people accept difficult thoughts and emotions while also making proactive, positive changes in their lives. Originally, ACT was developed in the 1980s by psychologist Steven C. Hayes to help treat mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and eating disorders. Additionally, according to Psychology Today, six core concepts align with acceptance and commitment therapy: acceptance, cognitive defusion, presence, self as content, values, and committed action. Research has shown that acceptance and commitment therapy can be a valuable tool in helping individuals who are struggling and/or are in recovery from an eating disorder.
ACT and Eating Disorders
ACT has been used to help individuals who are struggling with bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and anorexia nervosa. Specifically, there are several steps that individuals will undergo throughout engaging in acceptance and commitment therapy with a licensed mental health professional from their recovery care team.
What Are The Steps?
The first step is to have individuals address the root causes of their behaviors. Often, perfectionism can be a crucial element that prompts individuals to follow unrealistic expectations and rules about how and what they should be eating. “ACT helps break the illusion of that false dichotomy, introducing the idea of thoughts as fluid, with no attachment to ‘good’ and ‘bad’ or ‘right’ and ‘wrong’”. Additionally, another step of ACT is to help individuals build their self-confidence and reflect upon their life goals. The undercurrent of an eating disorder causes individuals to harbor a falsehood about their body image and, as such, lowers their self-esteem and causes them to engage in unhealthy behaviors.
What Are The Benefits?
ACT works towards helping individuals separate those thoughts into more positive ones and, moreover, help them gain perspective on how to live a happier lifestyle with food. Finally, ACT aims to help individuals build resiliency and develop coping skills to help them navigate their recovery journey. Additionally, individuals who are engaged in ACT may develop skills with their healthcare provider to manage any triggers and develop better patterns.
BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™, located in New York City, offers free consultation calls to help you explore next steps. We provide in-person programming seven days a week and are in-network with UnitedHealthcare (UHC), Cigna, Emblem, and Oscar, with Aetna coverage coming soon. Support is available, and recovery is possible. Schedule a free consultation call with our admissions team here and stay connected with BALANCE on Instagram here.
References
Eating Disorder Hope. (2023, August 22). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy | Eating Disorder Treatment. https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/treatment-for-eating-disorders/therapies/acceptance-commitment-therapy-act
Psychology Today Staff. (n.d.). Acceptance and commitment therapy. Psychology Today. Retrieved August 18, 2024, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/acceptance-and-commitment-therapy
This post was written by BALANCE Blog Contributor, Regina Colie (she/her).
Regina Colie is a blog contributor for BALANCE, whose previous work has been featured in Project HEAL and Nourishing NY. She is an alumnus of The New School of Social Research, where she received her Masters in Psychology. After attending Marymount Manhattan College, she had the opportunity to be published in Dr. Nava Silton’s book, The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Child, Adolescent, and Adult Development.
