ACT & CBT Therapy Approaches

Evidence-Based Therapy for Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, Trauma, Relationships, and Personal Growth (MA, NH, ME, RI)

There are many different therapy approaches, and no single approach works for every person, situation, or stage of life. I often integrate elements of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) into my work depending on each client's needs, goals, nervous system, and lived experiences.

I provide integrative, relational, and trauma-informed telehealth therapy for adults in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island.

While ACT and CBT are distinct approaches, they have some meaningful overlap. Both can help people better understand the relationships between thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and the ways we respond to difficult experiences. At the same time, I don't approach either model in a rigid or overly manualized way.

Instead, I use these approaches as tools within a broader relational, humanistic, and trauma-informed framework.

Why I Use Evidence-Based Approaches

ACT and CBT are considered evidence-based approaches because research has shown that they can be helpful for a wide range of concerns, including:

anxiety and panic
depression
chronic stress and burnout
perfectionism
obsessive or repetitive thinking
emotional regulation
trauma-related stress
life transitions
relationship difficulties

I appreciate having practical tools and frameworks available in therapy. Sometimes understanding why something is happening is incredibly helpful, but sometimes we also need something concrete to try.

At the same time, I don't believe therapy is simply about collecting coping skills.

The relationship between therapist and client matters enormously. So does the context of someone's life, their history, their identity, their relationships, and the ways their nervous system has learned to respond to the world.

Because of that, I use ACT and CBT flexibly rather than treating them as one-size-fits-all solutions.

What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on the relationships between thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and patterns of responding.

One of the things I appreciate about CBT is that it gives us a way to slow down and look at patterns that can sometimes feel automatic.

For example, we might notice:

catastrophic thinking
self-critical beliefs
avoidance
perfectionism
anxiety spirals
negative self-talk
assumptions about what other people are thinking
behaviors that provide short-term relief but create longer-term problems

CBT isn't simply about "thinking positively." In fact, I think that description misses much of what makes it useful.

Instead, CBT can help us become more curious about the thoughts and beliefs we're having and how they influence what we feel and do.

Sometimes a thought is accurate. Sometimes it isn't. Sometimes it was once useful but no longer fits our current circumstances. Sometimes a belief developed in response to experiences that made perfect sense at the time.

That gives us something to explore.

CBT can help people:

identify patterns in their thinking
understand connections between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors
develop practical coping strategies
reduce avoidance
experiment with new behaviors
increase flexibility
develop a more balanced understanding of difficult situations

It can be particularly useful for anxiety, panic, depression, stress, and patterns of self-criticism.

What Is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)?

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on psychological flexibility and helping people build lives that feel connected to their values.

One of the things I appreciate about ACT is that it doesn't require us to get rid of difficult thoughts or emotions before we can live meaningful lives.

Instead, ACT asks us to consider our relationship with those experiences.

Can we make room for difficult emotions without allowing them to completely determine what we do?

Can we notice a thought without automatically treating it as fact?

What matters to us enough that we're willing to move toward it even when discomfort comes along for the ride?

ACT incorporates ideas such as:

present-moment awareness
acceptance
mindfulness
cognitive defusion
values clarification
committed action
psychological flexibility

For me, the concept of psychological flexibility is especially important.

Life is going to be uncomfortable sometimes. Anxiety, grief, uncertainty, anger, disappointment, and fear are all part of being human. Therapy doesn't necessarily need to teach us how to eliminate those experiences.

Sometimes it can help us learn how to have those experiences without letting them completely run our lives.

ACT can be particularly helpful for people dealing with:

anxiety
perfectionism
chronic self-criticism
burnout
life transitions
identity exploration
existential questions
chronic stress
difficulty making decisions based on personal values

How ACT and CBT Can Work Together

Although ACT and CBT developed from different traditions, there is meaningful overlap between them.

Both approaches can help us become more aware of patterns that may be keeping us stuck. Both can provide practical strategies for changing behaviors and developing greater flexibility. Both can also help us become more intentional about the relationship between our internal experiences and the choices we make.

Sometimes CBT might help us notice a thought pattern such as:

"I'm going to mess this up, so I shouldn't even try."

We might explore where that thought came from, whether it is accurate, and what happens when we respond to it as though it were unquestionably true.

ACT might approach the same experience somewhat differently.

We might notice the thought, recognize that our mind is trying to protect us from failure or rejection, and then ask:

"What do I actually want to do here, even though this thought is showing up?"

Neither approach requires us to shame ourselves for having the thought.

That matters to me.

I don't want therapy to become another place where people learn that they're doing their emotions, thoughts, or coping strategies "wrong."

Instead, I want us to understand what is happening and then decide together what might be helpful.

Why I Integrate These Approaches

I use ACT and CBT because many clients benefit from having both insight and practical strategies.

Therapy might involve:

understanding anxiety and nervous system activation
identifying patterns of self-criticism
exploring avoidance and its protective function
developing emotional regulation skills
practicing mindfulness
clarifying personal values
building communication skills
experimenting with new behaviors
exploring attachment and relationship patterns
developing greater self-compassion

Sometimes we need a practical tool.

Sometimes we need to understand where a pattern came from.

Sometimes we need to sit with an emotion rather than immediately trying to change it.

And sometimes we need to recognize that what looks like an individual problem makes much more sense when we understand the person's relationships, environment, identity, or history.

That is why I don't separate evidence-based techniques from the rest of the therapeutic relationship.

They are tools that can support the work, not the entirety of the work.

My Approach to Integrative Therapy

My work is collaborative, relational, and individualized.

I don't believe therapy should require you to fit yourself into a particular model. Instead, I want the therapy to fit the person.

Together, we may explore:

anxiety and stress patterns
emotional regulation
perfectionism and people pleasing
attachment and relationships
identity and authenticity
nervous system awareness
burnout and chronic stress
values and meaning
patterns that may have developed as ways of protecting yourself

I may draw from ACT and CBT alongside other approaches, including Internal Family Systems-informed work, attachment-focused therapy, humanistic therapy, and nervous system awareness.

My goal isn't to give you a collection of techniques and send you on your way.

It's to help you better understand yourself, develop greater flexibility, and build a life that feels more like your own.

Who I Work With

I work with adults navigating:

anxiety and panic
emotional overwhelm
burnout and chronic stress
trauma and attachment wounds
perfectionism and people pleasing
identity exploration
relationship difficulties
ADHD or autism-related stress

Many clients also seek support around:

emotional regulation
life transitions
self-worth
grief and loss
existential questions
meaning-making
feeling stuck or disconnected from themselves

Telehealth Therapy Using ACT & CBT Approaches

I provide virtual therapy for adults located in:

Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Maine
Rhode Island

Telehealth allows therapy to happen from a familiar environment and can make ongoing support more accessible for many people.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between CBT and ACT?

CBT focuses heavily on the relationships between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. It can help us identify patterns that contribute to distress and experiment with different ways of responding.

ACT focuses more heavily on psychological flexibility, acceptance, values, and changing our relationship with difficult thoughts and emotions.

There is overlap between the two, and I may draw from both depending on what feels useful for the person I'm working with.

Are ACT and CBT evidence-based therapies?

Yes. Both ACT and CBT have substantial research supporting their use for a variety of concerns, including anxiety, depression, stress, and other mental health concerns.

Do you use ACT and CBT in a rigid way?

No.

I don't believe every person needs the same intervention simply because they have the same diagnosis.

I use these approaches flexibly and collaboratively within a broader relational, trauma-informed, and individualized therapy process.

Is therapy just about learning coping skills?

No.

Coping skills can be useful, but therapy is also about understanding ourselves, our relationships, our histories, and the environments in which we've learned to function.

Sometimes the goal is learning a new skill. Sometimes it's understanding why an old coping strategy developed in the first place. Sometimes it's figuring out what you actually want your life to look like.

Often, it's some combination of all three.

Related Specialties

Next Steps

Therapy can involve both practical tools and deeper self-understanding.

ACT and CBT can provide useful frameworks for understanding thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and patterns of responding. But for me, those tools work best when they are integrated into a therapeutic relationship that makes room for the whole person.

You deserve therapy that is grounded in research while still making room for your humanity, your history, your relationships, and your individual way of experiencing the world.