Psychological Resilience and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, (ACT)Psychological resilience has recently become a concept that has attracted attention. It is based on the ability of an individual to cope with problems and difficult situations they encounter in life in a harmonious way. For this reason, it shows itself in many areas (Öz and Yılmaz, 2009). Psychological resilience does not mean being in a constant state of well-being or being okay all the time. It means having the skills to cope with these difficulties even if we encounter them.
Life consists of contrasts: beautiful–ugly, good–bad, right–wrong, easy–difficult… Due to these contrasts, psychological resilience involves going forward on both sides. Humans are social beings. Because of this, we establish relationships with other people, living beings, and objects. The basis of these relationships is the bond we have with ourselves. Psychological resilience aims to exist in contrasts in every area of life by strengthening this bond.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy has a place in the third wave of cognitive behavioral therapies. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is abbreviated as ACT. This abbreviation, read as “Act,” means taking action. This technique, which is based on mindfulness, aims at reframing thoughts with a compassionate approach. Its main purpose is to increase the psychological resilience of the individual and to regulate their thoughts — that is, their perspective on life — and their behaviors accordingly (Yavuz, 2018).
For this purpose, the ability to accept emotions and thoughts that create difficulties in our lives and to move forward with determined steps towards subjects that are meaningful to us is the base of this technique. Thus, it is aimed to direct our lives more fully and in the way we want (Harris, 2017, as cited in Yavuz, 2018).
As stated in the title, the main purpose of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is to increase our psychological resilience. Six basic psychological skills that can be used in daily life have been developed to increase psychological resilience and progress in this direction. These are acceptance, being in the moment, separation, contextual self, values, and value-oriented actions (Dursun and Akkaya, 2022). We can consider these skills separately, but they can be found intertwined at every moment of life, just like a matryoshka.
Acceptance
The skill of acceptance involves recognizing the presence of challenging emotions and thoughts and allowing them to exist as they are, rather than trying to get rid of them.
Being in the Moment
Being present, as the name suggests, aims to focus on the present moment, along with the presence of tiring and stressful thoughts and feelings about the past or the future, and to give our minds the message that you are in the moment, you are here, you are fine, you can relax.
Separation
The skill of separation’s main purpose is not internalizing challenging thoughts. Our mind is like a machine that is constantly working and produces thoughts regularly. Although our mind is the source of these thoughts, this skill aims to let them go by realizing that they come independently from us, like a passenger taking a break at a station.
Contextual Self
The contextual self aims to look at our emotions and thoughts from a broader perspective, and therefore, to see ourselves and our lives from a wider angle. Sometimes those disturbing feelings and thoughts are so intense that it can feel like everything is out of our control. This skill involves noticing the feeling they create in us, observing that they are a part of us, and remembering that we have control over them, just as we can move our finger whenever we want.
Values
Our values shape our lives. This involves observing what we value in life, and from which perspective we want to direct our lives. Values act as a guide for the steps we take and the decisions we make.
Value-Oriented Actions
Finally, the skill of behaving in accordance with values is based on the determination part of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. It aims to shape our path and actions according to what is important to us, based on our core values. It involves walking this path with determined steps.
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a mindfulness-based technique. In other words, the basis of all these steps is to establish a connection with ourselves. Sometimes we may not be able to show ourselves the compassion we show to others. Because of this, all these skills aim to develop self-compassion.
Conclusion
As a result, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy progresses toward establishing a new relationship with our emotions and thoughts, and accordingly, with life. It aims to increase psychological resilience and improve our ability to cope with difficult events and problems. It provides a new perspective on others, ourselves, and life through basic psychological skills that can be used in every part of our lives.
Psychological resilience includes helping ourselves through the skill steps that are embedded in every area of life. Although we may feel that we cannot cope with difficulties from time to time, it should not be forgotten that the main purpose of psychological resilience is to approach ourselves with compassion and understanding, even in times like that.