Wk 5 - ACT Flashcards
(31 cards)
What does ACT say about challenging and disputing thoughts?
we don’t need to give these thoughts any attention and let it influence your life. just let it go, take a step back, and just observe your thoughts for what they are.
What are the 2 main concepts of ACT?
1) Mindfulness/ Acceptance
2) Commitment to Values & Motivation
Describe what mindfulness and acceptance is about. (2)
- paying attention to the moment and your experience; being present
- allow thoughts and feelings to be there and noticing them, even if they are uncomfortable or painful.
Describe what values and motivations is all about (3)
- look ahead and focus on what we are pursuing in life
- focus on what we value and our ambitions
- pursuing your values is never an easy journey, there are many painful aspects of pursuing a life worth living. if we choose to avoid pursuing this life because we want to avoid the pain, we will never pursue and achieve the things we value.
What is psychological flexibility?
The ability to contact the present moment more fully as a conscious human being. Not letting our current thoughts and feelings get in the way of working towards our valued long-term life goals. To be able to change or persist when doing so serves valued ends.
Name the 3 commitment aspects of the ACT model
1) Being Present
2) Values
3) Committed action
Name the 3 acceptance aspects
1) Acceptance
2) Cognitive Defusion
3) Self as Context
Describe Acceptance. (2)
1) Let our thoughts and emotions be there, whether they are positive or negative. dont avoid it.
2) Letting Go - don’t need to engage the thought. dont need to evaluate (approve/ resist) or judge it.
Describe being present.
paying attention to the now, especially our values.
Describe Cognitive Defusion.
Taking a meta position, and seeing ourselves as separate from our thoughts, and not fused together. Unhook our self from our thoughts, so that our behaviors and feelings wont be influenced by these negative thoughts.
eg. NOT “I am good/bad” –> “I am having the thought that I am good/bad”
Describe the idea of self as context.
The self is an observer of different roles. Rather than seeing the self as the identity in itself.
Describe what are values.
- the things that make life worth living; represent direction in our lives
- consciously chosen
- rewarding if we live according to them
Describe what is committed action.
- living in ways that is consistent with values, despite the pain it may bring
- brings us closer towards the lives we value which gives us pleasure and satisfaction in the long run
What are the 3 assumptions of ACT?
1) life is suffering
2) holistic - we cannot separate ourselves from our experiences (eg. painful emotions/memories)
3) We create our own “psychological suffering”.
Elaborate on the assumption of ACT that life is suffering.
We all will experience pain, disappointments, and sadness in our lives. But we can nevertheless still live rich, meaningful, and purposeful lives. We should accept every part of the experience, and we should not deny the painful parts of our lives.
What is relational frame theory?
Argues that patterns of thoughts and beliefs about how things are related are all learnt from an early age through our social experiences. It explains why people hold negative unhelpful associations. These associations are not always helpful or true.
According to ACT, what is considered health and dysfunction?
Health
- Able to accept that the good and bad are part of life (openness to all feelings and thoughts)
- commit to live in line with these values
- cognitive flexibility
Dysfunction
- self is too fused with thoughts. holding on to conceptualized self rather than seeing self as context
- try to avoid or suppress negative and painful parts of life
What are the 3 steps involved in ACT assessment?
1) identify client’s values
2) identify negative thoughts that client is fused with
3) look out for any experiential avoidance
What is the questionnaire used in ACT assessment called?
Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ)
Describe 2 metaphors you can use to explain the idea of self as context.
1) Chessboard metaphor
- white chess pieces are good thoughts and feelings
- black chess pieces are the bad thoughts and feelings
- you are the chessboard! you are the context in which these thoughts and feelings a playing out. you are not in the game
2) Passengers on the bus metaphor
- you are a bus heading to your own destination (your values)
- you pick up passengers in your life. they may be good or bad. they may shout at you to turn left, right, stop etc. these are your emotions and thoughts.
- but you are the bus driver. you thank all of them for being in your life, tell them to take a seat, and tell them this is where we are heading.
Describe the idea of the struggle switch.
When we struggle with our anxiety/anger/sadness, we add on secondary emotions to these primary emotions. Eg. if we cope with our sadness by going to drink alcohol excessively, we feel guilty afterwards. guilt is the secondary emotion, which creates another layer of pain to our existing pain.
If we choose to let go of the rope and not act on our primary emotions, we are switching off our struggle switch.
Describe the idea of the struggle switch.
When we struggle with our anxiety/anger/sadness, we add on secondary emotions to these primary emotions. (Eg. if we cope with our sadness by going to drink alcohol excessively, we feel guilty afterwards. guilt is the secondary emotion, which creates another layer of pain to our existing pain.)
If we choose to let go of the rope and not act on our primary emotions, we are switching off our struggle switch.
Describe the technique of cognitive defusion.
1) separating from painful thoughts and recognizing that they are JUST thoughts rather than the absolute truth
2) stepping back from the thought and phrase it in a distant manner. Can externalize it through personification, or soft toys etc.
How do you get clients to accept their painful emotions?
1) observe their body
2) breathe
3) expand and release tension
4) allow feelings to be there
