Introduction
iACT4CARERS is an online psychological training programme to support family carers of people living with dementia. This online programme is based on a psychological approach called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people deal with inevitable psychological pain and distress in life. ACT (read as one word) does not aim to eliminate psychological pain and distress; instead, ACT teaches people how to respond to painful thoughts and feelings so that these experiences exert less influence over their actions, allowing them to spend their time living a healthy life rather than fighting with thoughts and feelings.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a very active form of coaching. You will learn to do the following:
Handle difficult thoughts and feelings more effectively, so they have less impact and influence over you.
Clarify your ‘values’ including what matters to you, what kind of person you would like to be, and how you want to treat yourself and others.
Take action to solve external problems and make choices to improve your life.
Why might ACT be helpful for family members supporting a person with dementia?
Life can be very hard, and we often don’t get to choose what difficulties we face. Recent research shows that ACT is particularly useful for those living with realistic life challenges that we don't have much control over. When we are faced with such challenges, our mind naturally amplifies psychological pain. The strategic focus of ACT—solving external problems and spending more time doing things that matter rather than battling negative thoughts and feelings—is highly practical. It is easier to change what we do and how we do it than to stop or change what we think or feel. It is difficult to alter the challenges we face and the psychological pain that accompanies them; they happen regardless of our best intentions. However, we can still control how we respond and can make choices that improve our lives.
