Willingness & Acceptance Practice
An ACT acceptance worksheet with a four-step expansion exercise, a table exploring the costs of avoidance, and a prompt linking willingness to valued action.
2-page fillable PDF · US Letter (prints on A4) · Acceptance
- Approach / concern
- ACT
- Technique
- Acceptance
- Format
- Fillable PDF, 2 pages (US Letter / A4)
- Access
- Pro and Advanced plans (3-day free trial)
- For
- Licensed clinicians to use with clients
- Updated
- October 2026
Key facts
What is the Willingness & Acceptance Practice?
Acceptance (or willingness) is one of the six core processes of ACT. It involves actively making room for unwanted private experiences, such as emotions, sensations and urges, rather than struggling to avoid or control them, in the service of valued action.
Why it works
Experiential avoidance is linked to many psychological problems. ACT, which targets acceptance alongside other flexibility processes, shows efficacy across anxiety, depression, addiction and chronic pain (A-Tjak et al., 2015; Hayes et al., 2012).
When to use it
- Anxiety and avoidance
- Chronic pain and health conditions
- Substance use and urges
- Grief and painful emotions
How to use it in session
- Explain the costs of avoidance with examples.
- Guide the expansion exercise in session.
- Debrief what the client noticed.
- Explore avoided actions and their costs.
- Link willingness to a valued action.
Clinician tips
- Acceptance is a choice, not a feeling.
- Use metaphors (tug-of-war with a monster, passengers on the bus).
- Start with mildly uncomfortable feelings.
Worked example
Sharing with clients
Members can download the PDF to print or email, or copy a private client link from the download box. Your client opens the link and downloads the worksheet on any device. No client account is needed, and nothing your client writes is stored on TherapyAid.
Frequently asked questions
Isn’t acceptance just giving up?
No. In ACT, acceptance is active: you stop fighting feelings so your energy can go into what matters.
Will the feeling go away if I accept it?
Sometimes it eases, but that’s not the goal. The goal is to stop the struggle so you can live fully.
References
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Harris, R. (2019). ACT made simple (2nd ed.). New Harbinger.
A-Tjak, J. G. L., Davis, M. L., Morina, N., Powers, M. B., Smits, J. A. J., & Emmelkamp, P. M. G. (2015). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy for clinically relevant mental and physical health problems. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 84(1), 30-36.
This worksheet is an educational tool for use by, or under the guidance of, a licensed or registered mental-health professional. It is not a diagnostic instrument or a substitute for clinical judgement. If a client is in crisis in Canada, call or text 9-8-8 or call 9-1-1.
