ACT Guide

What is ACT Guide?

Designed by psychologists at Utah State University, ACT Guide is an online self-help program that aims to foster emotional wellbeing and help individuals cope with issues such as depression, anxiety, and stress.

What to Expect

  • ACT Guide is completed entirely online and is personalized to help you meet your specific mental health goals. You’ll learn skills to help you develop a healthier relationship with negative feelings, practice mindfulness, clarify what matters most to you, and set personal goals to keep yourself on the right track.
  • The program is divided into 12 self-guided modules that you can use whenever you want at whatever pace works well for you. We recommend spending around 30 minutes per module and trying one or two new modules per week.
  • Read the Privacy Notice and the Terms of Use.

About us

  • ACT Guide was developed by Dr. Michael Levin, a professor in Utah State University’s Psychology Department and co-director of the Utah State University ACT Research Group. The USU ACT Research group is dedicated to increasing access to mental healthcare using scientific studies to understand how we can better help people with a variety of mental health concerns.
  • Creating ACT Guide is our way of taking what we’ve learned in our lab about mental wellbeing and using it to improve the lives of others.

The Science

  • ACT Guide is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), an approach to mental health that is frequently used to treat a range of concerns. There have been over 300 randomized controlled trials showing thepositive effects of using ACT. These trials are one of the strongest ways to test treatment approaches (State of the ACT Evidence)
  • ACT has also been found to be effective when delivered in a self-help format like ACT Guide. Dr. Michael Levin, the developer of ACT Guide, is one of the leading researchers of ACT self-help interventions. Dr. Levin has found strong support for online ACT programs like ACT Guide in over 20 clinical trials, with dozens of studies by other research teams finding similar results.
  • In our lab, we have conducted a number of studies using online ACT programs very similar to ACT Guide. See below for a sample of our work in this area:
    • Levin, M. E., Krafft, J., Hicks, E. T., Pierce, B., & Twohig, M. P. (2020). A randomized dismantling trial of the open and engaged components of acceptance and commitment therapy in an online intervention for distressed college students. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 126-103557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2020.103557
    • Petersen, J. M., Krafft, J., Twohig, M. P., & Levin, M. E. (2019). Evaluating the open and engaged components of acceptance and commitment therapy in an online self-guided website: Results from a pilot trial.Behavior modification, 0145445519878668.https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445519878668iii.Levin, M. E., Haeger, J. A., Pierce, B. G., & Twohig, M. P. (2017). Web-based acceptance and commitment therapy for mental health problems in college students: A randomized controlled trial. Behavior Modification, 45(3), 480-501. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445519878668
    • Levin, M. E., Haeger, J. A., Pierce, B. G., & Twohig, M. P. (2017). Web-based acceptance and commitment therapy for mental health problems in college students: A randomized controlled trial. Behavior Modification,41(1), 141-162. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445516659645

Cost

  • For $25, you’ll receive access to ACT Guide for six months. During this time, you can complete the program at your own pace.
  • All proceeds from ACT Guide directly support program maintenance and future program development. Payments are processed securely via PayPal.
  • If you are interested in using ACT Guide at your organization, please contact us for bulk pricing options at ACTGuide@usu.edu.