Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) in Ottawa
Embrace Your Thoughts, Stop Fighting Reality, & Take Action Toward What MattersAt Fireside Psychotherapy in Ottawa, we bring the gentle yet transformational framework of ACT to help you drop the rope in your internal struggles. Located in Centretown at 428 Gilmour Street, our team of Registered Psychotherapists provides compassionate ACT both in-person at our quiet downtown clinic and virtually throughout Ontario.
What is Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)?
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (pronounced as the word “act”, not spelled out as individual letters) is a modern, mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioural approach.
While traditional therapy often attempts to alter or reduce uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, ACT takes a radically different stance: the goal is not to eliminate difficult emotions, but to change your relationship with them.
ACT operates on a core realization: trying to suppress, deny, or control painful thoughts and emotions often creates more suffering than the original experience itself.
Instead of getting tangled in endless mental debates, it teaches psychological flexibility—the ability to stay present, open up to uncomfortable feelings without letting them run your life, and take meaningful actions aligned with your deepest personal values.
The Hexaflex: The Six Core Processes of ACT
ACT builds psychological flexibility through six interconnected processes, known clinically as the Hexaflex. Rather than following a rigid step-by-step manual, your therapist will help you weave these six processes together fluidly based on what you need in the moment:
Cognitive Defusion (Watch Your Thinking)
Learning to observe your thoughts as simple strings of words or brain noise rather than objective details. You learn to unhook from “I am a failure” and shift to “I notice my mind is generating the thought that I am a failure.” This creates distance between you and your inner critic.
Acceptance (Open Up to Experience)
Making space for uncomfortable inner experiences—such as anxiety, sadness, or physical tension—without attempting to fight, divert from, or run away from them. Acceptance is about dropping the struggle against reality.
Contact with the Present Moment (Be Here Now)
Exercising grounded, non-judgmental awareness of the here-and-now rather than getting lost in past regrets or future anxiety. This involves sensory grounding and mindful observation of your current environment.
Self-as-Context (The Observing Self)
Developing a steady sense of inner perspective that observes your thoughts, feelings, and body sensations without defining who you are by them. You are the sky; your thoughts and feelings are just the weather passing through.
Values Clarification (Know What Matters)
Identifying what truly matters to you in core areas of life—relationships, career, personal growth, health, and community—rather than living by societal expectations, people-pleasing, or fear of failure.
Committed Action (Do What It Takes)
Designing clear, tangible steps and daily habits that move you directly toward your values, even when fear, doubt, or uncertainty come along for the ride.
How ACT Differs From CBT & DBT
While CBT focuses on changing unhelpful thoughts and DBT focuses on balancing acceptance with emotional regulation, ACT focuses on disentangling yourself from thoughts entirely so they no longer dictate your behaviour.
| Therapy Modality | Primary Focus | Approach to Unhelpful Thoughts | Main Outcome Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBT | Cognitions & Behaviors | Restructure, challenge, and replace negative thoughts | Modify thought patterns to lower distress |
| DBT | Emotional Regulation | Validate feelings while building concrete coping skills | Stabilize extreme distress & survive crises |
| ACT | Psychological Flexibility | Observe thoughts without judgment; stop fighting them | Build a meaningful life guided by personal values |
Who Can Benefit from ACT?
Because ACT focuses on how humans relate to struggle in general, it is remarkably effective across a wide variety of mental health challenges. At Fireside Psychotherapy, our clinicians utilize ACT to help clients dealing with:
- Chronic Worry & Health Anxiety: Stop struggling against physical symptoms or intrusive “what-if” loops so you can live fully in the present.
- Depression & Existential Stagnation: Reconnect with personal passion, dismantle emotional numbness, and rebuild daily momentum through valued effort.
- Life Transitions & Identity Shifts: Navigate career changes, grief, or relationship milestones by anchoring to what truly matters to you.
- Perfectionism & Imposter Syndrome: Free yourself from rigid “shoulds” and severe inner critics that hold you back from taking meaningful risks.
- Chronic Pain & Health Conditions: Shift away from a life dictated by physical limitations toward a rich life alongside health realities.
Flexible Care Options: Ottawa In-Person & Ontario Teletherapy
Taking the first step toward therapy should feel empowering, convenient, and safe. We provide two distinct pathways to receive care:
Historic Centretown Clinic (In-Person)
Nestled inside a peaceful heritage property at 428 Gilmour Street (in downtown Ottawa between Kent and Bank Street), our space is thoughtfully arranged to offer a quiet, restorative environment. We are easily reached by public transit and offer accessible street parking.
Secure Virtual Therapy (Ontario-Wide)
For clients seeking the privacy and ease of receiving therapy from home, we offer encrypted, PHIPA-compliant telehealth across Ontario. ACT exercises translate seamlessly into virtual sessions, giving you real-time tools to apply directly within your home environment.
What Your ACT Journey Looks Like
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a collaborative, skills-based approach that can help you respond differently to difficult thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Rather than trying to eliminate uncomfortable feelings, ACT focuses on building psychological flexibility—the ability to stay present, make room for difficult experiences, and take meaningful action based on what matters most to you.
Your ACT journey is therefore not about following a rigid set of steps or trying to achieve a life without anxiety, stress, sadness, or self-doubt. Instead, therapy is tailored to your experiences, challenges, values, and goals. As you develop greater awareness and flexibility, you can learn practical ways to relate to difficult thoughts and emotions while continuing to move toward the people, activities, and priorities that give your life meaning.
Phase 1: Uncovering What Keeps You Hooked
Together with your therapist, you will examine where your efforts to avoid painful feelings have kept you trapped or pulled you away from the life you truly want to live.
Phase 2: Learning to Unhook & Make Space
Through useful metaphors and experiential mindfulness exercises, you will rehearse cognitive defusion techniques to loosen the hold of negative self-talk.
Phase 3: Uncovering Your Core Compass
You will explore what gives your life genuine purpose, defining your personal values across health, relationships, career, and personal fulfillment.
Phase 4: Taking Steps That Count
You will formulate realistic, measurable commitments. You will learn how to carry discomfort alongside you while taking bold steps toward a rich and vital life.
ACT in Everyday Life
Situation: You receive a critical email from your manager.
Automatic Thought: “I’ve messed everything up.”
Emotion: Anxiety and dread.
Behaviour: Re-reading the email repeatedly and delaying your response.
Balanced CBT Perspective: “The email may contain feedback, but feedback doesn’t automatically mean I’ve failed.”
Result: Reduced anxiety and a more constructive response.
Meet Your ACT Therapist(s)
Alice Lurie is the founder of Fireside Psychotherapy and has over 20 years of experience supporting individuals and couples through anxiety, depression, stress, grief, emotional regulation challenges, and relationship concerns. She integrates CBT with other evidence-based approaches to help clients build useful skills and achieve meaningful, lasting change.
Alice Lurie, RP
Founder & Registered Psychotherapist
Credentials
-
- Gottman Level 1 & 2
- Gottman Couples Addiction & Recovery Training
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- EMDR
- REBT & MBCT
- Specialized training in stepfamily therapy
Professional Designation
M.A., Registered Psychotherapist
Areas of Specialization
-
- Individual Therapy & Couples Therapy
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Stress & Grief
- Emotional Regulation
- Relationship Challenges
20 Years of Experience
Alice offers direct billing for select insurance providers, including Canada Life, Medavie Blue Cross, Manulife, and Sun Life. Coverage and eligibility may vary by plan.
Why Choose Fireside Psychotherapy for ACT?
Choosing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is not about learning to control every difficult thought or eliminate uncomfortable emotions. ACT offers a different perspective: with the right support, you can learn to make room for difficult internal experiences while becoming more intentional about how you respond to them.
At Fireside Psychotherapy, ACT can provide a structured yet individualized framework for exploring the thoughts, emotions, behaviours, and patterns that may be getting in the way of living according to your values. Your therapist works collaboratively with you to identify what matters most, develop greater psychological flexibility, and find practical ways to take meaningful action even when difficult feelings or uncertainty are present.
Rather than measuring progress solely by whether challenging thoughts or emotions disappear, ACT focuses on helping you build a more flexible relationship with them. Over time, this can support greater awareness of your choices, reduce the influence that unhelpful patterns have on your behaviour, and help you move toward the relationships, activities, and goals that are important to you.
What Sets Fireside Psychotherapy Apart?
Every person arrives in therapy with different experiences, priorities, strengths, and challenges. At Fireside Psychotherapy, the therapeutic process is designed around you rather than requiring you to follow a predetermined path. Your therapist takes time to understand your circumstances and works with you to determine what approaches and strategies are most appropriate for your goals.
With ACT, that collaborative approach can be particularly valuable because the work is highly connected to your own values and definition of a meaningful life. Therapy may involve developing present-moment awareness, learning to step back from unhelpful thought patterns, exploring personal values, and identifying realistic actions that move you in the direction you want to go. These skills are introduced in a way that connects with your everyday experiences rather than remaining purely theoretical.
Fireside Psychotherapy also emphasizes creating a supportive and respectful therapeutic environment where you can explore difficult experiences without judgment. The goal is not to tell you how you should live or what your values should be. Instead, your therapist helps you clarify what matters to you and develop the flexibility and skills to make choices that are consistent with those priorities.
Whether you attend therapy in person or virtually, the focus remains on providing thoughtful, individualized care that respects where you are now while helping you work toward where you want to be.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)?
A: Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy that helps people develop psychological flexibility. Rather than trying to change or control painful thoughts and feelings, ACT teaches you to accept uncomfortable inner experiences while committing to conduct aligned with your core values.
Q: What does “acceptance” mean in ACT? Does it mean resigning myself to pain?
A: No, acceptance in ACT does not mean resignation, defeat, or giving up. Instead, acceptance means engaged willingness—making room for difficult emotions and physical sensations as they are, so you can stop wasting energy fighting reality and channel that effort into living a meaningful life.
Q: How many sessions of ACT are usually required?
A: ACT is a flexible model that can function as short-term therapy (8 to 16 sessions) or as a longer-term framework for personal growth. Many clients experience a significant perspective shift within the first 4 to 6 sessions as they learn cognitive defusion techniques.
Q: Is Acceptance & Commitment Therapy covered by health insurance in Ontario?
A: Yes, ACT sessions provided by a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) or Registered Social Worker (RSW) are covered under most extended health care plans in Ontario. Fireside Psychotherapy provides direct billing options for select insurance companies to make the process smooth.
Q: What is the difference between ACT and CBT?
A: While traditional CBT aims to identify and restructure irrational or negative thoughts, ACT teaches you that thoughts do not need to change in order for your life to change. ACT encourages you to observe your thoughts without arguing with them, allowing you to focus on values-guided action instead.
Q: Is virtual ACT therapy as effective as meeting in person?
A: Yes, clinical studies demonstrate that virtual ACT delivered over secure video is just as effective as in-person therapy. Because ACT relies heavily on experiential exercises, mindfulness, and values work, clients often find it easy to apply these skills directly in their daily home routines.
Ready to Pull Up a Chair at Fireside Psychotherapy?
You don’t need to eliminate all your anxiety, doubt, or distress before you start living a rich, purposeful life. At Fireside Psychotherapy, we are here to walk with you as you discover what truly matters and build the confidence to pursue it.
- Address: 428 Gilmour Street, Ottawa, ON K2P 0R8 (In-Person & Virtual)
- Office Hours: Monday – Saturday, 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM
- Get in Touch: (343) 644-4357 | info@firesidepsychotherapy.ca
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