ACT in Career Counselling

By Nadia Richard and Michel Bleau

Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) can be a powerful approach to help clients accept what is beyond their control and commit to taking career actions aligned with their values, despite the obstacles

Leah, a student in the humanities, is trying to find her career path. As she’s about to enter her second year of college, she is faced with a dilemma. “Should I complete my program or apply for a social work program? If I complete my college diploma, will I be accepted into university? Is a helping profession really the right choice for me? If I choose the wrong career, what will I do then?” Faced with her mounting angst, she seriously considers taking a trip somewhere…

Educational and career decisions come with their share of questioning and unease. Having thoughts like “I must not make a mistake” and feelings of discomfort are a normal and frequent occurrence. As anxiety sets in and starts to cloud your decisions, it’s natural to want to try to alleviate these uneasy feelings. To avoid the discomfort associated with her questioning, Leah could easily put off thinking about it and wait until the last minute to make her career choice. Given that she’d like to discover new cultures, the idea of going abroad seems like a solution to her indecision, at least for the short term.

In such cases, ACT can be a useful approach to help someone out of a vocational impasse.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is one of the so-called third wave cognitive behaviour therapies.

ACT was developed in the therapeutic environment, where it demonstrated its efficacy directly. It is also used in non-clinical populations in contexts such as schools, organizations and career counselling. In these populations, the acronym ACT stands for Acceptance and Commitment Training.

When integrated into career counselling, the perspective that ACT offers can help the individual develop a rich and rewarding personal and professional life. It employs an analysis matrix that casts career-related challenges in a new light.

ACT comprises two fundamental axes that clarify a person’s objectives: to accept what is beyond the person’s control (thoughts, emotions, etc.), and to commit to taking action aligned with his or her values, despite the presence of obstacles. Obstacles are the thoughts, memories, feelings, and so on, that can impede us from following a path that’s in tune with what’s important to us.
To date, the ACT literature suggests that observing, distancing oneself from and accepting one’s thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations leads to a deeper understanding of self, and enables a person to recognize contradictions and ambiguities as well as learn to cope with them. Moreover, ACT allows the person to see the situation from several vantage points, so that he or she can make choices that are better aligned with his or her needs, values and interests.

Several ACT tools exist in career counselling, as they do in therapy, coaching and other forms of intervention. One such tool is a matrix. This is a diagram that helps the person obtain a more global perspective on his or her situation and see all the factors at play: who and what is important, what obstacles are in the person’s way, which actions serve to distance the person from uncomfortable thoughts and emotions, and which bring the person closer to what’s important?

As such, in an atmosphere that’s accepting and free of judgment, the counsellor helps clients identify what’s important to them, particularly with respect to their career. The process brings to light their values and interests, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. In the grips of anxiety and indecision, fear and confusion can taint people’s perceptions. In these cases, fighting against their thoughts and emotions is futile. By focusing clients’ attention on the here and now, the counsellor helps them observe and distance themselves from their thoughts as well as observe and acknowledge their uncomfortable feelings. This helps clients take actions that are in line with their values as opposed to following a path that distances them from their uncomfortable thoughts and emotions.

To illustrate a potential career counselling intervention, let’s apply the matrix to Leah’s situation.

Throughout the counselling process, the counsellor used the matrix to help Leah identify times when her worries about the future caused her emotions to get the better of her. Among other tools, the counsellor used the metaphor of the bus.

“Life is like a bus, and you are the driver. The passengers represent your memories, thoughts, emotions and physical sensations. On the bus, there are some annoying passengers. They yell at you to turn left or right, warn you of ‘big dangers ahead’ and sometimes suggest shortcuts… but at what cost? You alone can decide the direction to take, the one that’s true to you. By accepting the presence of annoying passengers, by learning to listen to them without necessarily doing what they say, you stop fighting for control of the wheel and channel your actions in the direction that’s fulfilling to you.”

This image was pivotal in Leah’s progress. She realized that her “passengers” had long been in the driver’s seat, and that it was high time they take their place at the back of the bus. Exercises aimed at practising mindfulness and being in the present moment helped Leah connect with her anxiety and indecision. With practice, she was able to clarify her values, and she realized that helping others was deeply important to her. A range of educational paths could allow her to play a professional role in serving people’s well-being. Of course, her first choice is to be accepted into the Bachelor’s program in social work at the university near her home. However, she has opened herself to other career paths in the helping field and is even contemplating moving, if need be. And, yes, she’ll get to take her trip too! Not to avoid making her decision, but to engage in a meaningful pursuit – that of discovering new cultures.

In short, ACT is about doing what works to go where you want to go. It’s about choosing who and what is important to you and becoming increasingly agile at moving in that direction, even in the presence of obstacles. The ACT process does not involve conquering indecision and anxiety in a period of uncertainty but rather moving in the direction that suits you, accompanied by your indecision and anxiety but less controlled by them.

Michel Bleau is a career counsellor and psychotherapist. Bleau worked for a number of years in education, as well as three years at the OCCOQ as head of professional affairs, and one year at MELS. He is co-author of the book L’école orientante – La formation de l’identité à l’école and currently dedicates his time to his psychotherapy practice, training counsellors in ACT and serving as clinical supervisor to career counsellors and psychotherapists.

Nadia Richard is a career counsellor at Collège Ahuntsic and psychologist in private practice. Richard has been working in the college system for nearly 10 years, where she has held a variety of roles related to career counselling, psychology and integrating students with disabilities. Trained in ACT, she incorporates this model into her psychotherapy, career counselling and academic support work.

References

Scoendorff, B., Grand, J., Bolcuc, M.-F. (2011) La thérapie d’acceptation et d’engagement, Guide clinique. Brussels: De Boeck.

Polk, K. L., Schoendorff, B., Webster, M., Olaz, F.O. (2016). The Essential Guide to the ACT Matrix. Oakland (CA): New Harbinger.

Harris, R. (2012) Passer à l’ACT – Pratique de la thérapie d’acceptation et d’engagement. Brussels: De Boeck.

Hayes, S., Strosahl, K., & Wilson, K. G. (2011). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.