ACT Made Simple Dr Russ Harris

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ACT Made Simple Dr Russ Harris
You can download this presentation from the
Therapists and Coaches page on

• www.thehappinesstrap.com

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Workshop Aims

• Understand the ACT model
• Experience the 6 core processes
• Learn practical tools and techniques
• Have some fun
• Leave here inspired to learn more

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What is ACT?

•  Acceptance and Commitment Therapy an
  empirically- supported mindfulness-based therapy,
  created by Steven Hayes in 1986
• Acceptance of what is out of your personal
  control and Commitment to taking action that
  enriches your life.
• The aim of ACT is to create a rich full and
  meaningful life, while accepting the pain that
  inevitably goes with it.
• Symptom reduction is not the goal

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What is ACT?

• ACT teaches psychological skills (mindfulness
  skills) to deal with painful thoughts and
  feelings more effectively in such a way that
  they have much less impact and influence.
• ACT helps you to clarify what is truly important
  and meaningful to you (your values) - then use
  that knowledge to guide and motivate behavioral
  change, to improve your quality of life.

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What Is Mindfulness?

• Mindfulness awareness with openness and
  curiosity
• Buddhism is often cited as the origin of
  mindfulness practice, but actually you can find
  it in all the worlds great religions
• ACT is not a religion. It is a scientific
  evidence-based behavioral therapy, based on
  applied behavioral analysis.

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6 Core Processes of ACT
The Present Moment Be here now
Acceptance Open up
Values Know what matters
Psychological Flexibility
Defusion Watch your thinking
Committed action Do what works
Self-as-context Pure awareness
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The Mindfulness Formula

• 1. Notice X
• 2. Let your thoughts come and go
• 3. Let your feelings be as they are
• 4. Drift off, come back

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The Mindfulness Formula

• Alternatives to notice observe, focus, pay
  attention to, be aware of
• Alternatives to acceptance allow it, open up,
  make room, create space, let it be, sit with it,
  drop the struggle, hold it gently, hold it
  lightly, soften up around it

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Workability

• Is what you are doing working in the long term to
  make life rich, full and meaningful?
• If yes, keep doing it
• If no, do something different
• Dont be a mindfulness Nazi
• Fusion and avoidance are NOT inherently bad. We
  only target them when they get in the way of a
  rich and full life.

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Creative Hopelessness

• AKA Confronting the agenda
• Clients agenda I want to control how I feel
• Control is the opposite of mindfulness
• 3 questions
• What have you tried?
• How has it worked?
• What has it cost?

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6 Core Processes of ACT
The Present Moment Be here now
Acceptance Open up
Values Know what matters
Psychological Flexibility
Defusion Watch your thinking
Committed action Do what works
Self-as-context Pure awareness
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Defusion techniques

• Leaves on a stream
• Let your thoughts come and go like passing cars,
  clouds in the sky etc.
• Your mind is a story teller thoughts are
  stories
• Your mind is like a radio - let it play on in the
  background
• Use your hand as a chatterbox
• Hands as thoughts metaphor

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Defusion techniques

• Im having the thought that
• I notice Im having the thought that
• Sing thoughts, e.g. to Happy Birthday
• Hear thoughts in silly voices
• Put thoughts on a computer screen and play with
  font, color, case, format or animate them or
  add a karaoke ball

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Defusion techniques

• Notice what your mind is telling you
• How old is this story?
• What happens when you get caught up in it?
• Does it help you to hold this story tightly?
• Does it help you to let this story run your life/
  bully you around/ dictate what you do?

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Defusion techniques

• Naming the story if we put every thought,
  feeling memory linked to this issue into a book
  or movie, what would you call it?
• Repetition
• Pop-up thoughts
• Children should be seen and
• Blondes have more
• Every cloud has

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6 Core Processes of ACT
The Present Moment Be here now
Acceptance Open up
Values Know what matters
Psychological Flexibility
Defusion Watch your thinking
Committed action Do what works
Self-as-context Pure awareness
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The Mindfulness Formula

• 1. Notice X
• 2. Let your thoughts come and go
• 3. Let your feelings be as they are
• 4. Drift off, come back!

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6 Core Processes of ACT
The Present Moment Be here now
Acceptance Open up
Values Know what matters
Psychological Flexibility
Defusion Watch your thinking
Committed action Do what works
Self-as-context Pure awareness
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Values

• You are 80 years old looking back on today.
  Complete these sentences
• I spent too much time worrying about
• I spent too little time doing things such as .

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Values

• A value a desired quality of ongoing action
• Compass metaphor a value is like a direction you
  want to move in e.g. West
• Committed action is like actually travelling West
• Goals are like the bridges or mountains or rivers
  you aim to cross.
• To be loving and supportive value
• Marriage goal

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Values Clarification

• Routine questions what would you start/stop if
  this was no longer an issue?
• What gives you a sense of meaning and purpose?
• When do you feel most alive?
• What really matters, in the big picture?
• For suicidal clients what has stopped you from
  killing yourself?

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Values Clarification

• 80th Birthday
• Magic wand
• Role models
• Childhood dreams
• Values questionnaires
• Documentary of you now and later

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Values Clarification

• Tombstone
• Eulogy
• Funeral
• You know you only have one week to live, but you
  cant tell anyone

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The I Dont Know Monster

• What is the function of I dont know?
• If genuine lack of understanding Explain values,
  and/or provide a list
• If automatic response Defusion
• If avoidance Defusion, Values Workability.
  Facilitate willingness, then do experiential
  exercises

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6 Core Processes of ACT
The Present Moment Be here now
Acceptance Open up
Values Know what matters
Psychological Flexibility
Committed action Do what works
Defusion Watch your thinking
Self-as-context Pure awareness
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Committed Action

• Values to goals short, medium and long term
• Whats the smallest, simplest, easiest step you
  can take in the next 24 hours?
• Live persons goals
• Specific goals
• Break goals down into actions
• On a scale of 0 10, how likely are you to do
  this? If client scores 5 or less, reassess!

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Committed Action

• Write yourself a personal goal, in line with a
  core value, that you will do in the next week
• As you do this, notice what your mind says
• Now commit to doing it tell your partner what
  you will do and as you do it, notice a) how you
  feel and b) what your mind tells you

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Barriers to Action

• F.E.A.R.
• Fusion
• Excessive goals
• Avoidance of discomfort
• Remoteness from values

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The Antidote to FEAR

• D.A.R.E.
• Defusion
• Acceptance of discomfort
• Realistic goals
• Embracing values

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6 Core Processes of ACT
The Present Moment Be here now
Acceptance Open up
Values Know what matters
Psychological Flexibility
Defusion Watch your thinking
Committed action Do what works
Self-as-context Pure awareness
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Self-as-context

• AKA self-as-perspective, the observing self, the
  silent self, the silent witness,
• My opinion the best term is pure awareness
• The part of you that is aware of everything
  else
• The place from which you observe
• The chessboard metaphor

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Self-as-context

• Thinking Self versus Observing Self playing
  tennis, watching a sunset
• The stage show of life on that stage is
  everything you can see, hear, touch, taste and
  smell, plus all your thoughts and feelings
• You can watch any part of the show, or all of it
  at once
• The show changes continually the part of you
  that observes the show does not

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6 Core Processes of ACT
The Present Moment Be here now
Acceptance Open up
Values Know what matters
Psychological Flexibility
Defusion Watch your thinking
Committed action Do what works
Self-as-context Pure awareness
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Acceptance

• Observe it location, size, outline, depth,
  temperature, hot spots, cold spots, movement,
  weight, vibration, pulsation
• Breathe into it
• Open up/ make room/ create space
• Allow it you dont have to like it or want it or
  approve of it just let it be
• Physicalize it if it was an object, what shape
  color, texture, temperature, weight, surface
  would it have?

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Acceptance

• Choice 1) no pain, but you lose your capacity to
  love and care or 2) you get to love and to care,
  but you feel pain when theres a gap between what
  you want and what youve got. Which do you
  choose?
• Place a hand on the pain
• Soften up/ loosen up around the pain
• Hold it gently, like a crying baby or a
  frightened puppy

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Acceptance

• Normalize this tells youre alive and you have a
  heart this is what humans feel when theres a
  gap between what you want and what youve got.
• Expand awareness This pain is one actor on the
  stage bring up the lights on the rest of the
  stage show

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Conceptualization

• 1. What direction does the client want to take
  their life in?
• 2. Whats stopping them?
• a) What are they fused with?
• b) What are they avoiding?
• c) What ineffective actions are they taking?

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Conceptualization
ACTION
ACTION
Mindless Fused Avoidant Ineffective
Mindful Valued Willing Effective
WORKABILITY
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A.C.B.S. Why Join?

• www.contextualpsychology.org

You can download this presentation from the
Therapists and Coaches page on www.thehappinesstr
ap.com