Misunderstanding ACT

Clearing Up the Confusion About What ACT Is (and Isn’t)

By Todd Schmenk, LMHC

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is one of the most frequently misunderstood approaches I’ve come across—by students, newer clinicians, and sometimes even those actively practicing within the model.

These misconceptions can lead to poor implementation, unnecessary resistance, or outright dismissal of what is one of the most functionally coherent approaches available in modern psychotherapy and often stem from attempts to fit ACT into models that simply don’t reflect its philosophical, theoretical, or applied foundations.

So I thought I’d put this together. Mostly because this exact conversation comes up again and again—those “Ohhh” moments with supervisees, when something finally clicks. Not just about what ACT is, but also what it isn’t. And that distinction really matters.

Let’s look at a few of the most common misunderstandings I hear—and see if we can clear the air a bit.