Utah State researcher outlines ACT techniques to help dementia caregivers manage stress

Beth Fouts, a researcher with Utah State Universitys Alzheimers Disease and Dementia Research Center, told a conference audience that acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) offers practical tools for dementia caregivers struggling with chronic stress.

"We're not going to get rid of the stress," Fouts said, framing ACT as a strategy to live alongside difficult thoughts and emotions rather than eliminate them. She described ACT as a well-studied form of cognitive behavioral therapy that dates to the 1980s and said there are "over a thousand randomized clinical trials" supporting its use.

Fouts opened with a values exercise, asking attendees to identify the personal characteristic they most want others to see in them (for example, compassion or patience) and to use that value as a "compass" for everyday choices. "Values are the same…