Anxiety Therapy in Bozeman, Montana
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Anxiety
At Sub Rosa Therapy in Bozeman, Montana, we offer evidence-based anxiety counseling rooted in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)—a model shown to be highly effective for a wide range of anxiety-related mental health challenges.
Unlike approaches that aim to eliminate fear, ACT helps you build a better relationship with anxiety so it doesn’t have to run your life. You’ll learn how to stop avoiding discomfort, reconnect with what matters most, and take meaningful action—even when fear is present. A skilled therapist will support you in applying ACT tools at your pace and capacity.
Why ACT Works for Anxiety
Unlike traditional models that focus on changing thoughts or controlling symptoms, ACT helps you:
Acknowledge and accept difficult emotions and thoughts without letting them dictate your behavior.
Clarify your values—what matters most to you—and use them as a compass for action.
Develop mindfulness and present-moment awareness, so you can respond to anxiety with intention, not reactivity.
Build tolerance for discomfort in service of a life that feels more alive and meaningful.
ACT is particularly well-suited for mental health clients who feel stuck in cycles of avoidance, perfectionism, self-criticism, or overthinking—patterns that often reinforce anxiety and restrict life.
ACT has been found to be as effective as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety—and in some cases more effective, particularly when shame, trauma history, or experiential avoidance are present.
What Is ACT?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps you shift from struggling with anxiety to living with intention. It supports you in:
Observing thoughts and emotions without being overwhelmed by them
Accepting discomfort instead of resisting or avoiding it
Clarifying your values to guide purposeful decision-making
Taking meaningful action even in the presence of fear or uncertainty
ACT invites a more flexible, courageous, and self-compassionate relationship with your inner world. This mental health approach distinguishes between clean pain (the unavoidable discomfort of life) and dirty pain (the suffering created by resisting that discomfort). Most anxiety lives in the latter.
ACT and Psychedelic Integration
ACT is well suited to support Spravato, ketamine-assisted therapy and psychedelic integration, all of which are part of our services at Sub Rosa.
The goal of both ACT and psychedelic therapy is increased psychological flexibility: the ability to stay present, accept internal experience, and act from your deepest values.
ACT provides a structured but non-pathologizing framework to help you integrate insights, process challenging content, and move forward with clarity. A trauma-informed therapist can help you bridge expanded states and everyday life with compassion and clarity.
For clients working with ketamine-assisted therapy or Spravato, ACT can help bridge the gap between expanded states of consciousness and everyday life.
Interested in this work? Learn more about psychedelic integration therapy.
What Makes ACT Effective for Anxiety?
While many therapies aim to reduce or change anxious thoughts, ACT helps you de-fuse from them, so they no longer dictate your behavior or limit your life.
ACT is especially helpful if you struggle with:
Chronic overthinking
Avoidance of people, situations, or emotions
Perfectionism or fear of making mistakes
Self-criticism, shame, or imposter syndrome
Feeling emotionally “stuck” despite insight or effort
ACT complements our trauma-informed work with Somatic Experiencing and Internal Family Systems for deeper nervous system healing.
Connect with an Anxiety Therapist in Bozeman
If anxiety has been making your world feel smaller, ACT therapy offers a compassionate and evidence-based path back to expansion and choice.
Contact us to schedule an appointment with a licensed mental health therapist or learn more about our integrative anxiety counseling services in Bozeman.