You may be wondering about how effective ACT is when studied carefully. It takes quite a lot to become what is called an "empirically supported treatment"; meaning that a number of rigorous research studies indicate that the treatment has been shown to be effective for helping people cope with a particular problem. As of January 2026, more than 20 organizations worldwide recommend ACT for depression, anxiety, stress, chronic pain, OCD, substance abuse, addiction, psychosis, and coping with chronic illness such as tinnitus and multiple sclerosis. Organizations recommend ACT to treat children and adolescents for anxiety, depression, pain, and OCD.
As of January 2026, there are over 1,450 ACT Randomized Controlled Trials and over 600 peer reviewed assessments of the ACT evidence base. These studies have examined ACT's effectiveness in many research areas, such as depression, anxiety, stress, OCD, substance abuse, addiction, psychosis, schizophrenia, eating disorders, body image disorders, weight loss, sports performance, trauma, insomnia, procrastination, and in coping with health conditions such as chronic pain, tinnitus, multiple sclerosis, cancer, brain injury, bowel diseases, headaches, and migraines.
Researchers have done a considerable amount of research that shows that the individual processes within ACT can be helpful across problems, and researchers care about ensuring that the treatment you get is likely to be helpful for the particular problem(s) for which you seek help.