21 March 2026
Why ACT is becoming more visible. More and more coaches are using the ACT method in their practice. In this blog, you will read why ACT fits so well with common coaching themes and what this approach offers in practice.
Some methods stand out because they feel new. Others because they stay with you. Not because they are fashionable, but because they continue to prove useful in practice. The ACT method is a good example of that. More and more coaches are using it because ACT gives language to something many clients struggle with: getting stuck in their heads, fighting what they feel, and drifting further and further away from what truly matters to them.
Many clients already know quite a lot about themselves. They recognise patterns, can clearly describe what is holding them back, and have often spent a lot of time reflecting on themselves. Still, that does not automatically lead to movement. Someone may understand why perfectionism is getting in the way, yet still keep themselves stuck. Someone may know that procrastination is unhelpful, yet still keep waiting for the right moment.
That is exactly where ACT brings something valuable.
ACT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, does not focus on getting rid of difficult thoughts or feelings. Instead, the method centres on psychological flexibility: the ability to stay present with what is there, without being completely ruled by it, while continuing to act in the direction of what truly matters.
That is what makes ACT so interesting for many coaches. A client does not first have to be free from fear, doubt or tension before movement becomes possible. ACT shows that someone can take meaningful steps even with inner unrest still present.
ACT works through six core processes: acceptance, defusion, contact with the present moment, self-as-context, values, and committed action.
Acceptance helps create space for what someone is feeling, rather than constantly fighting against it. Defusion helps people take their thoughts less literally. Contact with the present moment brings attention back to what is happening right now. Self-as-context helps clients not to become completely identified with their self-image or personal story. Values clarify what is truly meaningful. Committed action helps turn that into concrete steps.
For coaches, that combination is especially valuable. ACT offers not only a clear view of behaviour and change, but also practical tools for conversations. You work with thoughts, language, attention, values and behaviour. As a result, it does not stop at insight alone. It also creates real movement.
That makes ACT widely applicable to themes such as perfectionism, insecurity, stress, procrastination, the need for control, and the feeling of being stuck in thinking instead of doing.
Much of this stuckness is linked to avoidance. Not wanting to feel difficult emotions. Taking difficult thoughts too seriously. Only wanting to move forward once everything feels safe and calm.
ACT helps people respond differently. Not by pushing that inner world away, but by making space for it while choosing again what really matters. That is exactly why more and more coaches are working with this method. Not as a trick or a loose technique, but as a human-centred approach that combines depth with practical application.
Do you work with clients who overthink, judge themselves harshly, or struggle to take action? Then it makes perfect sense that ACT is being used more and more in coaching. The method helps you give clients not only greater insight, but also more flexibility, space and direction.
Would you like to discover how the ACT method works and what it could mean for your own coaching practice?
Click here for our e-book, you will learn how the method is structured and how to translate it into your own coaching conversations.
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