Abstract: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) was brought forward by Steven C. Hayes in the 1990s. As one of the “third wave” of behavior therapies based on mindfulness skill, ACT takes functional contextualism as its underlying philosophy, and engages in empirical research on cognition and language to enhance the mental flexibility of clients through striking a balance between change-oriented strategy and acceptance-oriented strategy. Clinical studies have demonstrated ACT’s effectiveness in a wide range of clinical problems, and its superiority in contrast to traditional therapies including CBT. Further studies of ACT could be done on its clinical efficacy and technical details, as well as the combination with CBT and the non-clinical uses.

Key words: acceptance and commitment therapy, mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral therapy, third wave of behavioral therapy, clinical research