Skip to main content

On Being a Graduate Student and Learning ACT

I'm about halfway through my Master's in Counseling program at Webster University in St. Louis, MO (U.S.). ACT, along with Existential influences, is my theoretical orientation. I was wondering if anyone out there who is also in graduate school and subscribes to ACT theory has encountered the absolute weirdness that this brings. That is to say, that ACT runs against many traditional therapies, including aspects of CBT. However, ACT seems to really run counter to psychodynamic theory in case conceptualization, theory of psychopathology, and many other aspects. At my university, the prevailing theory of most of the professorial staff seems to be psychoanalytic/psychodynamic therapy. As I complete classes in school and read books on ACT outside of class, the disorientation that I experience from being exposed to these contrasting theories is an interesting sensation. The relational networks that are being formed can sometimes be a little jarring when trying to reconcile the differences.

Have any of you graduate students out there experienced this also?