Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in North Riverside, Illinois
Serving clients in Broadview, Westchester, Brookfield, La Grange Park, Berwyn, Forest Park, Chicago, and throughout Illinois via telehealth.
Sometimes you can know exactly why you feel anxious, low, or stuck, and still feel just as anxious, low, and stuck. Understanding a pattern doesn't always loosen its grip on its own.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on building a different relationship with difficult thoughts and feelings, rather than trying to talk yourself out of them, so they carry less weight over time. This isn't about forcing positivity or willpower. It's about developing the flexibility to keep moving toward the life you want, even while anxiety, low mood, or old patterns are still present. At Shift Counseling, PC, we work with clients on ACT skills in-person at our North Riverside office and virtually throughout Illinois.
When Understanding Isn't Enough
What Is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is an evidence-based behavioral therapy built around psychological flexibility: the ability to stay present with difficult thoughts and feelings while still choosing actions that line up with what matters to you. Instead of working to eliminate uncomfortable thoughts and emotions, ACT helps you change your relationship with them, so they stop running the show. This isn't about forcing positivity or willpower. It's about building the skills to respond to what's going on inside you without letting it dictate everything you do
What Conditions Does ACT Treat?
ACT is flexible enough to help with a wide range of concerns, especially when the struggle isn't just the thought itself but how much energy goes into fighting it. Our therapists use ACT with clients working through:
Mind & Mood
Body & Stress
Life & Relationships
Whatever brought you here, we'll tailor ACT to what's actually keeping you stuck.
If you're in crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7.
How ACT Works at Shift Counseling
ACT is collaborative and experiential. Treatment may involve identifying patterns of avoidance, clarifying values, practicing mindfulness and present-moment awareness, learning cognitive defusion strategies, and developing behavioral goals that reflect your values.
What to Expect
Treatment is individualized. Your therapist may use experiential exercises, metaphors, behavioral experiments, and between-session practice to help you apply ACT skills outside of therapy.
Our Approach
ACT rests on six connected skills. Depending on what's keeping you stuck, we'll spend more time on some than others:
Acceptance
Making room for uncomfortable thoughts and feelings instead of avoiding or fighting them.
Cognitive Defusion
Learning to notice a thought as just a thought, not a fact or a prediction.
Present-Moment Awareness
Staying grounded in what's happening now instead of stuck in the past or future.
Self-as-Context
Seeing yourself as bigger than any one thought, feeling, or label.
Values
Getting clear on who you want to be and what actually matters to you.
Committed Action
Taking values-based steps, even when it's uncomfortable.
Avoidance and Values in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Working With Avoidance
Avoiding what's uncomfortable can feel like relief in the moment. Over time, though, persistent avoidance tends to reinforce anxiety and limit what you're willing to do, which can quietly shrink your life instead of protecting it. ACT doesn't push you to force your way through everything that's hard. Your therapist will help you build willingness and flexibility at a pace that fits your capacity, your context, and your goals.
Getting Clear on Values
Many people mix up values with goals, but they're not the same thing. Goals are things you complete. Values are more like directions: how you want to show up in your relationships, your work, and your own life, on an ongoing basis. Getting clear on your values gives you something steady to move toward, even while anxiety, sadness, or old patterns are still present.
How ACT Fits With Other Therapies
ACT can stand on its own, or work alongside other approaches your therapist may draw on.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT and ACT often overlap. Where CBT focuses on identifying and shifting thought patterns, ACT focuses on changing your relationship to them, so many clients benefit from both.
Learn morePolyvagal Therapy
Because feelings show up in the body as much as the mind, some clients pair ACT with Polyvagal-informed work to help the nervous system feel safe enough to make room for hard emotions.
Learn more
Meet Your ACT Specialist: Nicole Powell, LPC
Nicole specializes in anxiety, depression, body image, and life challenges for adults and young adults. She draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and mindfulness, and integrates Polyvagal theory to help clients understand how the nervous system connects to mood and behavior. She sees clients in-person at our North Riverside office and virtually throughout Illinois.
Is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Right for You?
ACT tends to be a good fit for people who've already done some of the insight work. You understand your patterns, but understanding alone hasn't been enough to change how you feel or act.
This might be the right fit if:
You've tried to think your way out of anxiety or depression and it hasn't stuck
You notice how much energy goes into avoiding certain thoughts, feelings, or situations
You know what matters to you but keep getting stuck before you act on it
You're managing chronic pain or a physical condition that therapy alone won't cure
You want practical tools, not just a place to process
You're open to sitting with discomfort instead of only trying to eliminate it
If you're not sure whether ACT is the right approach, that's a great question to bring up during a free consultation. You can get more insight and decide for yourself.
Getting Started with ACT
Taking the first step is often the hardest part. Here's how it works at Shift Counseling, PC.
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Request a Free Consultation
Schedule a brief 15-minute phone or video call with Nicole. Share what's going on, ask questions about how ACT works, and see if it's the right fit. No pressure, no commitment.
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Schedule Your First Session
If it's a match, we'll get your first appointment on the calendar, in person at our North Riverside office or virtual from anywhere in Illinois. Already confident it's the right fit? You can skip the consultation and book directly.
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Start Making Progress
In your first session, your therapist will get to know you, understand what's bringing you in, and start building a plan together. You don't need to arrive with everything figured out.
We accept BCBS PPO, Blue Choice PPO, Aetna, Cigna, First Health, MyBlue Plus, and Lyra EAP. FSA/HSA/HRA cards are also accepted.
FAQs
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is an evidence-based approach built around psychological flexibility, the ability to stay present with difficult thoughts and feelings while still acting on what matters to you. Rather than trying to eliminate uncomfortable thoughts, ACT helps you change your relationship to them through skills like acceptance, cognitive defusion, and values-based action. At Shift Counseling, PC, your therapist will tailor these skills to what's actually keeping you stuck.
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ACT is used for a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, chronic stress, perfectionism, difficulty tolerating distress, chronic pain, and trauma-related concerns. It's especially useful when a person understands their patterns intellectually but hasn't been able to change how they respond to them. If you're unsure whether it applies to your situation, that's a great question to ask during a free consultation.
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Your first session is mostly about getting to know each other and understanding what brought you in. Your therapist will ask about your history, your goals, and what you've already tried. You'll also start talking about your values, since they shape the direction of ACT work. Most first sessions run 45 to 60 minutes.
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CBT and ACT often overlap, but they approach thoughts differently. CBT focuses on identifying and challenging distorted thinking. ACT focuses on changing your relationship to thoughts and feelings instead of arguing with their content, so you can act on your values even when hard thoughts are present. Our Shift Counseling therapist draws on both, depending on what's most useful for you.
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It depends on what you're working on and how complex the concerns are. Some clients notice shifts within the first several sessions, especially around avoidance and values clarity. A full course of ACT might run a few months or longer. Your therapist will check in regularly to make sure the pace and approach are actually working for you.
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is designed to build skills you keep using long after therapy ends, not just relief that fades once sessions stop. Clients who practice noticing thoughts, staying present, and taking values-based action tend to see changes that hold up over time, even when difficult emotions come back
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That's actually one of the more common reasons people come to ACT. If you've done a lot of cognitive work and still feel stuck, ACT offers a different angle: instead of continuing to challenge every thought, you learn to make room for it while still moving toward what matters to you. Your therapist can help you figure out which approach, or combination, fits best.
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Yes. At Shift Counseling, PC in North Riverside, we offer ACT in person and virtually throughout Illinois, including Broadview, Westchester, Brookfield, La Grange Park, Berwyn, Forest Park, and Chicago.
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Nicole Powell, who integrates ACT into her work, is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Illinois. She holds a BA in Psychology from St. Mary's University and an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Lewis University, and she draws on ACT, CBT, mindfulness, and Polyvagal-informed care.
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Yes. What you share in therapy is confidential, with limited exceptions required by law, including situations involving risk of harm to yourself or others, or cases involving the abuse of a child or vulnerable adult. Your therapist will review confidentiality and its limits with you at the start of treatment.
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At Shift Counseling, PC, we're in-network with BCBS PPO, Blue Choice PPO, Aetna, Cigna, First Health, MyBlue Plus, and Lyra EAP, and we accept FSA, HSA, and HRA cards. We'll help you understand your coverage and give you an estimate before your first session.
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We see clients by appointment only. Please provide at least 24 hours notice if you need to cancel or reschedule. Missed sessions without 24-hour notice are subject to a $50 fee.
Ready to stop fighting your thoughts?
Reach out today to schedule a free consultation with Nicole, in-person in North Riverside or virtually anywhere in Illinois.
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