What is ACT Guide for Chronic Health Conditions?
- ACT Guide for Chronic Health Conditions is an online mental health program designed by psychologists and researchers at Utah State University.
- This program is for anyone living with one or more chronic health conditions, such as chronic pain, diabetes, asthma, multiple sclerosis, or chronic fatigue syndrome.
- You’ll learn skills to help navigate difficult emotions, connect with what is important to you, and treat yourself compassionately.
How does it work?
- The “ACT” in ACT Guide stands for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, an approach to mental health that can improve your overall well-being. There have been over 1,000 randomized controlled trials showing the positive effects of using ACT for a wide range of mental health conditions (State of the ACT Evidence).
- The ACT Guide for Chronic Health Conditions program was developed based on years of ongoing research from our lab. Most participants in our clinical waitlist-controlled trial of the current program with 100 adults experienced improvements in quality of life, functional impairment, and psychological flexibility, and were highly satisfied with the program.
- Levin, M.E., Aller, T.B., Klimczak, K.S., Donahue, M.L. & Knudsen, F. (2025). Digital acceptance and commitment therapy for adults with chronic health conditions: Results from a waitlist-controlled trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 188, 104729.
What to expect?
- ACT Guide for Chronic Health Conditions is completed entirely online and has six self-guided modules that you can work through at your own pace. The program was designed to be applicable across chronic health conditions with examples highlighting common shared experiences (e.g., pain, feelings of frustration, uncertainty, isolation, experiences of invalidation) instead of focusing on specific conditions. People living with fibromyalgia, tinnitus, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and over other 50 other chronic conditions have found our program helpful.
- Each session covers a new skill, helping you find new ways to respond to difficult thoughts and feelings, connect with personal values, be compassionate towards yourself, and do what matters to you.
- You can expect to spend around 20-40 minutes on each session of the program. Most people complete one session per week, taking 1-2 months to complete the whole program, but we encourage you to use the program at whatever pace works best for you.
- Read the Privacy Notice and the Terms of Use.
Who created the ACT Guide?
- We’re a group of researchers at Utah State University who spend our time helping others with their mental health. We created ACT Guide for Chronic Health Conditions so that evidence-based mental health resources are widely available to anyone who might benefit from them. You can learn more about us by visiting the Utah State University ACT Research Group or our primary collaborators at the Center for Mental Health Promotion.
- ACT Guide for Chronic Health Conditions was developed as a training program as part of the Interagency Outreach Training Initiative funded by the Utah Coordinating Council for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD).
How do I sign up?
- The program costs $25, and you’ll have access to ACT Guide for Chronic Health Conditions for six months. During that time, you can work through the program at your own pace.
- All money we make directly supports program maintenance and future program development. Payments are processed securely via PayPal.
Who can I contact if I have questions?
- We'd love to hear from you! If you have any questions about ACT Guide, please email us at ACTGuide@usu.edu.