What is the ACT for Psychosis Recovery Class?

ACT stands for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. It is broadly a form of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy that is focused on improving psychological wellbeing, aiming to help people with psychosis.

ACT aims to help you by giving you skills that can be used to reduce the impact of difficult thoughts and feelings. Instead of trying to fight your psychosis, the class aims to help you learn to live better with it.

ACT has a broad relevance, because at its heart is a model that recognises that we all become ’stuck’ through struggling with difficult thoughts and feelings. Ultimately, ACT will guide and encourage you towards a way of living that is in line with your personal values.

The ACT for Psychosis class aims to:

• Help you find or develop a direction in life.
• Help you become more aware of the obstacles in your life.
• Help you to respond to your obstacles more effectively by teaching you skills of being more open, aware, and active.

Who is the class for?

• People who experience ongoing psychosis which is impacting on their day-to-day lives.
• People able to attend a regular class who are willing to practice what they have learned in between sessions.
• People who are willing to share their opinions and experience of the activities and exercises done during class sessions.

Please note, participants will not need to talk in depth about their personal experiences and past mental health difficulties.

How is the class structured?

The class starts with a taster session which will be a chance to meet other participants, find out more about the class, and try out some of the exercises. This is an opportunity to determine if the class is for you.  The taster session is followed by a series of 6 sessions, each lasting for 2 hours.

Following the final session, you will have a one-to-one meeting with a clinician running the class, where you can review your experiences and discuss if any further support is needed. The class size varies, but in general contains up to 15 participants.

Patient feedback

“I have really enjoyed doing these workshops and will be taking valued information and coping strategies.”

How can I contact Psychological Therapies?

Email: Oxon.psychologicaltherapies@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

Phone: 01865 902 005

Address

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Adult Mental Health Team
Psychological Therapies
May Davidson Building,
Warneford Hospital, Warneford Lane,
Headington, Oxford OX3 7JX