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ACT Therapy For Anxiety, ADHD, Depression, Stress, Caregiving, And Life Transitions

ACT is built on a simple idea: you don’t have to eliminate hard thoughts and feelings to move forward. Instead of fighting them, you learn to make space for them and use that energy to create the life you actually want.

That idea tends to resonate most with people carrying a specific kind of weight; anxiety that won’t switch off, ADHD that makes daily life harder than it should be, depression that mutes everything to gray, or the exhaustion of putting everyone else first for too long. Add burnout grief, illness, or an unexpected life shift, and “maxed out” can start to feel like the norm. If any of this sounds relatable, you might benefit from ACT therapy.

KLS Collective Therapy Group is in-network with MVP Health Care, and we offer virtual ACT therapy for adults and couples across New York.
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What Is ACT Therapy?

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is an evidence-based therapy that helps people develop psychological flexibility.
Instead of trying to eliminate every anxious thought, painful emotion, or uncomfortable memory, ACT focuses on changing your relationship with those experiences. The goal is not perfection or constant happiness. The goal is to learn how to keep showing up for your life, your values, and the people you care about, even when things feel difficult.
ACT combines mindfulness, self-compassion, and behavioral change strategies to help you:

  • Step out of cycles of overthinking and emotional avoidance

  • Notice thoughts without becoming consumed by them

  • Respond more intentionally rather than react automatically

  • Build a stronger awareness of identity and direction

  • Reconnect with meaning, purpose, and relationships

  • Create a life that reflects your values, not just your fears

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KLS Collective Therapy Group Therapist Team

Geralyn Valonzo new

Geralyn Valonzo

LCSW

Experienced in: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Person Centered Therapy, Supportive Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Trauma Informed Therapy

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Matthew Louie_new

Matthew Louie

LMSW

Experienced in: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Person Centered Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Supportive Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy.

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Liz Davis_New

Liz Davis

LMSW

Experienced in: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), CBT for Insomnia (CBT-I), Person Centered Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, Somatic Therapy, Trauma Informed Care, Supportive Therapy, Sleep Therapy.

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Marcy_new

Marcy Ruland

LCSW

Experienced in: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Person Centered Therapy, Humanistic, Positive Psychology, Strengths-Based Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Supportive Therapy, Culturally Sensitive, Motivational Interviewing.

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ACT For Anxiety And Overthinking

When your brain refuses to stop scanning for problems
Anxiety often convinces people that if they think hard enough, worry enough, prepare enough, or stay alert enough, they can finally feel safe.
Unfortunately, that usually leads to exhaustion.
ACT helps people notice when anxiety has taken over. Instead of getting pulled into cycles of worry or trying to force anxious thoughts away, therapy helps you learn how to step back from them and respond in ways that feel more grounded, intentional, and connected to what actually matters to you.

ACT can help with:

  • Worrying and getting stuck in your thoughts

  • Panic and physical anxiety symptoms

  • Health anxiety and medical stress

  • Perfectionism and people pleasing

  • Fear of disappointing others

  • Burnout and emotional overload

  • Difficulty being present in relationships

Sources:

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ACT For ADHD

When your mind feels busy all the time
People with ADHD commonly carry far more shame than anyone realizes.
You may struggle to manage your emotions, experience procrastination, feel overwhelmed, forgetful, rejection-sensitive, or feel like you are constantly falling behind. Over time, this can create anxiety, self-criticism, and the belief that you are somehow failing at life while everyone else seems to manage.
ACT helps people move away from constant self-criticism and toward a better understanding of how they function, what they need, and what actually helps. Therapy focuses on developing more flexibility, self-awareness, and practical support so that daily life feels more manageable and less overwhelming.

Therapy may focus on:

  • Understanding and managing intense emotions

  • Executive functioning stress

  • Rejection sensitivity

  • Motivation and avoidance cycles

  • Self-worth and identity

  • ADHD burnout

  • Navigating work, parenting, and relationships with ADHD

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ACT For Depression

Reconnecting with yourself when life feels flat or heavy

Depression often pulls people away from the things that once made them feel connected, purposeful, or alive.
You may notice yourself withdrawing, going through the motions, losing interest in things you care about, or feeling emotionally numb. ACT does not pressure people to “think positive.” Instead, it helps people reconnect with small moments of meaning, movement, and intention, even as motivation feels far away.
Together, we work on creating space for difficult emotions while also rebuilding connection to the parts of life that matter most.
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Living According To Your Values

Becoming the person you want to be remembered as
One of the core ideas in ACT is that pain is part of being human, but suffering grows when we become disconnected from our values.

Therapy may include questions like:

  • What kind of person do you want to be in your relationships?

  • How do you want your children or loved ones to experience you?

  • What matters to you underneath the anxiety or self-doubt?

  • What would it look like to live more intentionally instead of constantly reacting to stress?

  • If fear stopped running the show, what would you move toward?

ACT helps people begin making choices that align with the version of themselves they want to grow into, rather than the one formed by stress, shame, or survival mode.
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Caregiver Stress, Illness, And Emotional Exhaustion

Supporting the people who are always supporting everyone else
Caregivers often spend so much time focusing on others that they stop noticing how overwhelmed they have become.
Whether you are parenting, supporting aging parents, navigating chronic illness, helping a partner through medical challenges, or simply carrying emotional responsibility for everyone around you, it is easy to lose yourself in the process.

ACT can help caregivers:

  • Manage chronic stress and burnout

  • Create healthier emotional boundaries

  • Reduce guilt surrounding rest and self-care

  • Process anticipatory grief and uncertainty

  • Stay connected to themselves while caring for others

  • Develop compassion without emotionally disappearing

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LGBTQ Affirming ACT Therapy

Therapy that makes space for your full identity
For many LGBTQ individuals, stress does not happen in a vacuum. Anxiety, depression, shame, hypervigilance, and self-protection often develop within places where safety, acceptance, or belonging were perceived as uncertain.
ACT can help create space to examine identity, relationships, family dynamics, self-acceptance, and the emotional impact of constantly feeling you need to explain, defend, or minimize yourself.
Our approach is affirming, collaborative, and grounded in respect for your lived experience.

Therapy may support:

  • Learning to accept yourself and embrace your identity

  • Family and relationship stress

  • Anxiety related to visibility or belonging

  • Shame and internalized criticism

  • Handling life transitions and coming out experiences

  • Building meaningful connections that feel authentic and natural

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What ACT Therapy Looks Like

ACT isn’t about sitting back and talking in circles. It’s active, and it’s meant to show up in your actual life, not just in the therapy session. A lot of the work centers on a few core moves: getting honest about what you actually value, noticing the thought patterns that keep pulling you off course, and building new ways to respond to stress and hard emotions instead of dodging them on autopilot. Some weeks that look like mindfulness practice. Other weeks it looks like sitting with something uncomfortable long enough to understand it differently.
You don’t need a clear plan when starting therapy. Most people start with a much simpler question — what do I actually want my life to look like from here? — and let the answer take shape as you go.
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Virtual ACT Therapy: In-Network with MVP Health Care

No matter where you’re located in New York, KLS Collective makes it possible to work with a therapist entirely online. There’s no commute, no waiting room, just consistent support that fits into your week. As an in-network provider with MVP Health Care, we help make that support more accessible from a cost standpoint, too.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Does MVP Health Care cover ACT therapy through NY State of Health marketplace plans?

Yes. MVP’s marketplace plans on NY State of Health give members access to behavioral health concerns through convenient virtual therapy, alongside other covered care. Exact copays and visit limits vary by plan thought, so it’s worth confirming your specific marketplace plan details with MVP.

Is ACT therapy covered under MVP's Medicaid Managed Care plans in New York?

Yes, outpatient mental health therapy is generally a covered benefit under MVP’s NY Medicaid Managed Care plans. Coverage specifics can vary, so we recommend confirming your exact benefits with MVP or checking your member materials.

Do MVP Essential Plan members have coverage for ACT therapy sessions?

Yes. MVP Essential Plan members can access behavioral health concerns through convenient virtual therapy as part of their plan benefits. Since the Essential Plan has several tiers with different cost-sharing, it’s best to check your specific plan for copay details.

Do you accept insurance? What is the cost out-of-pocket?

Our rates vary depending on the type of service and duration of the session. In addition to flexible out-of-pocket payment options, KLS Collective Therapists are also in network with MVP, CDPHP, Aetna, and Fidelis insurance providers. Additionally, we also offer a sliding scale for clients in need.

Does my MVP plan require prior authorization for ACT therapy?

Generally, no. Routine outpatient mental health services are not on MVP’s list of behavioral health services that require prior authorization (which is mainly focused on inpatient care, partial hospitalization, and similar higher-level programs). That said, requirements can vary by plan, so it’s always a good idea to confirm with MVP directly.

I have an MVP plan through my employer upstate, can I still book virtual ACT sessions if I'm elsewhere in New York?

Yes, definitely. As long as you’re located within New York State at the time of your session, you can typically use your MVP virtual therapy benefits regardless of where your employer or home plan is based. It’s still worth a quick check with MVP to confirm your specific plan’s telehealth coverage area.

Does MVP cover ACT therapy for both individual and couples sessions?

MVP typically covers individual outpatient therapy sessions. Coverage for couples counseling can vary more by plan and is sometimes limited or excluded, so it’s best to check directly with MVP to confirm whether couples sessions are covered under your specific plan.

Are you only in-network with MVP Health Care?

No. In addition to MVP, we are also in-network with: CDPHP, Aetna, and Fidelis insurance providers in New York. Additionally, we also offer a sliding scale for clients if needed.

Do you offer in-person ACT therapy?

Our practice is fully virtual. We don’t have a physical office. Every session happens online, which means you can work with a therapist without needing to travel, wherever you are in New York.

What can I expect during my first session?

The first meeting is less about diving into deep work and more about laying groundwork. You’ll walk your KLS Collective therapist through what’s brought you to therapy, what you’ve tried before, and what you’re hoping shifts. From there, your therapist starts building an approach suited to you specifically.

What happens during the other ACT therapy sessions?

Later sessions get into the actual mechanics of ACT — practicing mindfulness, clarifying what matters most to you, and building new ways of relating to stress and difficult emotions instead of avoiding them. It’s active, collaborative work aimed at helping you live in closer alignment with your values.

What is the cancellation policy for your mental health services?

Please give us at least 24 hours’ notice if you need to cancel, so we have the chance to fill that time for another client. Cancellations with less notice, or missed appointments, may be subject to a fee.

Are sessions confidential?

Confidentiality is built into how we practice at KLS Collective. Whatever you share stays between you and your therapist, and we follow HIPAA regulations closely to keep your information protected.

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