I currently help to teach ACT to mental health professionals and service users at my local Recovery College. The ethos of The Recovery College is to empower people with mental health problems to become experts in their own recovery. My role is as a peer tutor with lived experience of mental health issues. ACT was the breakthrough therapy in my own life and I still use it to help me through each day.
For most of my teenage and young adult life I suffered with depression at a steadily increasing rate and severity throughout those years. It left me with a life which felt very small and worthless. I was on and off antidepressants for many years and tried counseling and therapies like CBT, but nothing seemed to make any long term difference. Until I discovered ACT.
I first encountered ACT in 2014 when I was offered a 10 week group therapy course by my local NHS mental health hospital. We met once a week for 3 hours and were guided by 3 mental health professionals. Almost every moment on that course was a lightbulb moment for me - the principles were all so simple but had a profound effect on me. I now use ACT to help me through all of life's ups and downs.
