Washington — Job loss and career uncertainty can take a toll that extends well beyond the workplace. Research published by the American Psychological Association suggests that a psychological intervention based on the principles of acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT, may help individuals navigate work-related challenges while improving well-being and reducing psychological distress.
The findings of a randomized controlled trial were published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology.
“We expected the intervention to help people become more psychologically flexible—that is, better able to stay open to difficult thoughts and feelings while still acting on what matters to them—and less likely to get stuck avoiding or struggling against those experiences,” said senior author Simon Grégoire, PhD, of the Université du Québec à Montréal in Canada.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the ACT-based group intervention for individuals facing work- or career-related challenges, the study included 164 French-speaking adults in Quebec, Canada, the majority of whom held undergraduate and graduate degrees. Their average age was 42 and approximately 81% were women. Some were going through career transitions or experiencing self-reported burnout symptoms or dissatisfaction at work, while others were struggling with career decisions or finding employment.
Whereas a large body of prior research suggests that ACT might be helpful in workplace settings—especially for workers with full-time high-stress jobs—no previous study examined whether it could offer special benefits for those with less stable work arrangements. Just over half of the study participants held permanent jobs; the rest were temporarily employed, self-employed, unemployed or on sick leave.
“Workers in precarious employment are rarely studied, even though their numbers are rising across developed countries and their working conditions arguably put them at greater risk of distress,” said Grégoire. “A significant portion of our participants held temporary jobs and almost half earned less than 70,000 Canadian dollars a year. Our aim was not only to assist individuals in navigating career challenges such as burnout, but also to promote their well-being and flourishing.”
The intervention consisted of seven weekly 2.5-hour online group sessions. Participants were randomly assigned either to the intervention or to a waitlist group that received no intervention during the initial seven-week comparison period. Those on the waitlist were later offered the intervention.
Over the course of the study, participants explored difficult thoughts and emotions related to their work situations, identified what was important to them personally and professionally, and developed plans for pursuing goals consistent with those values. Sessions included group discussions, mindfulness and other exercises, educational strategies and activities to complete at home.
Compared with participants on the waitlist, those who participated in the intervention reported greater psychological flexibility, well-being and meaning in their professional lives and less psychological distress and psychological inflexibility. Those improvements were maintained at Week 17, approximately nine weeks after the intervention ended.
The researchers cautioned that the study was not designed to compare the effectiveness of this ACT-based intervention with other psychological or career approaches. The study also relied on self-reported measures, and researchers did not track participants’ completion of activities between sessions. The study’s facilitators had training in ACT and group facilitation and received supervision from an experienced psychologist; study authors did not independently monitor how closely facilitators followed the intervention.
Researchers were surprised to find that, despite the improvements in well-being and other measures, participants who initially received the ACT intervention did not become significantly more engaged in their careers compared with those on the waitlist. Instead, Grégoire said, the intervention may help some people reconsider where work fits into a meaningful life.
“ACT interventions can help people get clearer about what matters to them, and that clarity doesn’t always point back toward the job they currently hold,” Grégoire said. “Some may have realized their work no longer fit their values; others may have found what they were looking for outside of work, in hobbies, volunteering or time with family. We can’t tell from our data which of these happened.”
The facilitator and participant manuals for this intervention are publicly available through the Open Science Framework, allowing career counselors and psychologists to use the intervention without licensing costs.
Article: “An intervention based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for people experiencing work- or career-related difficulties: A randomized controlled trial,” by Maryse Damecour, PhD; Marina Doucerain, PhD; Lise Lachance, PhD; and Simon Grégoire, PhD, Université du Québec à Montréal. Journal of Counseling Psychology, published online October 29, 2026.