A whistle-stop experiential introduction to ACT Elizabeth Burnside & Fiona Randall
Orientation & Aims Very brief introduction to ACT using experiential exercises We will not be exploring research and theory Consent - You are encouraged to participate as much as you wish Further resources can be found on the ACBS website: https://contextualscience.org/acbs To leave with an overall orientation to the ACT approach to psychological challenges
Overview Theoretical perspective ACT Assumptions & Creative Hopelessness OPEN Acceptance Defusion AWARE Being Present BREAK Self as Context ACTIVE Values Committed Action Questions/discussion
Philosophical Perspective Understanding where ACT fits into the therapeutic picture
Mechanism v Functional Contextualism Assumptions of mechanism The real world is knowable and already organised into parts (mountains, trees people) and these parts can be described by language Therefore the goal of analysis is to model the world properly Truth is a matter of accurately mapping these parts using language
Functional Contextualism Assumptions of Contextualism Holistic approach The whole event is primary and the parts are derived or abstracted when it is useful to do so Truth is defined by whether a particular activity (or set of activities) helped achieve a stated goal What is true is what works
Myths Happiness is the default human state
The ACT perspective we re all in the same boat
Aversive and Appetitive Control ACT is NOT about symptom reduction
This is related to our human language abilities - RFT Symbolism Generativity Relational responding relating anything to anything Even ways of coping with distress are reminders of distress Avoidance and rule governed living dominate over experience. It s beyond me
Fix it mentality applied to our internal world.
OPEN AWARE ACTIVE
Acceptance to take what is offered
A willingness to allow internal experiences to be as they are
Experiential avoidance
If you don t want it, you ve got it
What is Acceptance? Alternative to experiential avoidance. Active and aware embrace of internal experiences Without attempts to change their frequency or form.
Understanding Acceptance Can be a challenging concept to understand It s not o Nihilistic self defeat o Tolerating and putting up with pain It is o Active, vital embrace of the moment o Non-judgmental stance o Curious and gentle
The goal of acceptance Not to feel better, to feel better Feel all the feelings, good, bad, neutral Warning be aware of expecting acceptance to work Avoidance Tolerance Acceptance
Why accept? In the service of what s important If we are willing to experience failure, shame, rejection, fear then we are free to choose to do anything
Embracing experience
Acceptance Exercise: What would happen if you stopped the struggle?
Let yourself go with the disease, be with it, keep company with Bruce Lee, 1975
DEFUSION and FUSION Sometimes, it s almost as we live in our thoughts And we don t even see that we re there A thought is a thought like an itch is an itch
What does fusion feel like? Certain truths Must be attended to Hard to let go of Needs to be fixed or worked out A rule that must be stuck to
What s in your fishbowl?
Contact with the present moment
Present moment awareness Life is not something that will be lived when you get rid of your problems life is going on now There is as much living in a moment of pain as in a moment of joy Thoughts and feelings often present themselves as about the past or future, however they are experienced now and from the point of view of now
Why be aware of being present? Without awareness there is no choice Active tracking and learning from direct experience. Undermine experiential avoidance and fusion Place to make valued based choices from
Encouraging presence ACT therapist continually brings the process back to the present Notice that Pay attention to.. Be aware of.. Observe that
Self As Context
Dimensions of self Conceptualised self/self as content Self as process Self as context
Conceptualized self the clouds Stories of who we are which are created over time Including our beliefs about who and what we are I am no good at public speaking I am a kind person I am a professional I am damaged goods If we become too rigidly attached to the content, our lives become rigid and restricted.
Self as process awareness of the sky and the clouds Moment to moment awareness Continuous and flexible verbal self-knowledge of the present moment Develop flexible attending and immediate self awareness Not evaluating, just looking and. Seeing what you see as you see it
Self as context the sky Sense of self is continuous, has always been there More able to hold stories lightly Wherever you go there you are Jon Kabat Zinn
What is your story? Like a newspaper What is your headline today? What s in your midsection? And the classifieds..
Valued living
Direction Not Destination
Values are things that you do, and the way that you do them how do you want to behave? Contribute to my local community
Freely Chosen
Available at Any Time
COMMITTED ACTION
IS IT DO-ABLE? IS IT MEANINGFUL? SIZE DOESN T MATTER!
EXPECT TROUBLE!
EXPECT TO STILL GO THE WRONG WAY SOMETIMES MANY TIMES