ACT

Question 1

How does ACT define mindfulness?

Answer 1

ACT breaks mindfulness skills down into 3 categories:

• Defusion: distancing from, and letting go of, unhelpful thoughts, beliefs and memories
• Acceptance (or Willingness): making room for painful feelings, urges and sensations, and allowing
  them to come and go without a struggle
• Contact with the present moment: engaging fully with your here-and-now experience, with an
  attitude of openness and curiosity

Question 2

What is relational frame theory?

Answer 2

• Human language and cognition are based on relational frames eg linking the sound “ball” to a spherical object
• We respond to stimuli based on arbitrary relationships drawn from these frames
• Evaluative thought patterns are examples of RFs
• ACT aims to help the individual view thought patterns as a result of relational frames, rather than being trapped in the web. These frames aren’t good or bad.

Question 3

What is the ACT hexaflex?

Answer 3

Question 4

What is the ACT Triflex?

Answer 4

Question 5

What are the two key questions in ACT assessment?

Answer 5

• What valued direction does the client want to move in?
  
  • Clarify values, desired qualities, relationships, domains of life
• What is getting in the client’s way?
  
  • Any of the six processes (fusion, avoidance, inflexible attention, remoteness from values, unworkable actions, fusion with self concept)

Question 6

What is creative hopelessness?

Answer 6

• Abandoning the agenda of control and opening people to the agenda of acceptance
• CH interventions generally hinge on workability. All involve exploring the advantages and disadvantages of the agenda of emotional control
• eg what have you tried, what has it cost, what is that like, are you open to something diff

Question 7

What is the choice point?

Answer 7

• Challenging situations = choice between towards and away moves (from values)
• At choice point STOP (Slow down, Take note, Open up, Pursue values)
• Away moves strengthened by hooks, towards by values, strengths, skills
• Towards and away is from the client perspective not the therapists

Question 8

What is willingness?

Answer 8

• One of the key functional goals of ACT
• An action and a skill to be learnt, not a concept to understand.
• Willingness to be open and present for one’s entire experience and choosing to move in a valued life direction. Full acceptance rather than gritting teeth.
• Key components
  
  • Acknowledge
  • Allow
  • Accomodate

Question 9

What is cognitive fusion?

Answer 9

• Fusion with thoughts and feelings
• Diffusion involves learning to:
  
  • Step out of the content (not engage with true/false)
  • Stop fighting or avoiding cognitions (they can’t hurt you)
  • Stop obeying cognitions
  • Stop giving all attention to cognitions
• Key fusion can be with automatic thoughts, self-judgements, rules, beliefs about the world.

Question 10

What are some diffusion strategies?

Answer 10

• Hands in front of face exercise
• Normalising thoughts
• Treating the mind as an entity
• Writing thoughts down
• Naming the story
• Thanks mind
• That’s an interesting thought