What Makes Third Wave CBT Different

Waves crashing in the ocean with foam and water spray.

Traditional CBT focuses on changing or eliminating difficult thoughts and feelings. Third Wave CBT focuses on changing your relationship with them. The goal is psychological flexibility: the ability to move forward even when things feel hard. This shift sounds subtle. In practice, it changes everything.

A person standing at the rocky beach looking at the ocean and rocks with birds perched on them

Close-up view of a calm ocean with gentle waves reflecting sunlight.

What is ACT Therapy?

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, pronounced like the word 'act') is the primary lens through which most Third Wave clinicians work. ACT helps you stop fighting your inner experience and start moving alongside it. Clarify your values. Take action even when discomfort is present. Build a different relationship with your thoughts so they stop running the show.

Research supports ACT for anxiety, depression, trauma, OCD, eating disorders, chronic pain, and more.

Our Modalities

ACT

Move forward by your values, even when discomfort is present.
CBT

Identify and shift the thought patterns keeping you stuck.
DBT

Build emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills.
EMDR

Process distressing memories in a structured, science-backed way.
ERP

Break the cycle of avoidance that feeds anxiety and OCD.
IFS

Understand the different parts of yourself and find internal harmony.
Attachment-Based

Explore how early relationships shaped how you connect, and how to do it differently.