Quotes for Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

[Daniel E.]

It is only by practicing through a continual succession of agreeable and disagreeable situations that we acquire true strengths. To accept that pain is inherent and to live our lives from this understanding is to create the causes and conditions for happiness.

—Suzuki Roshi

 

[Daniel E.]

New Harbinger's interview with Steve Hayes (2006) | Association for Contextual Behavioral Science

contextualscience.org

Anxiety + unwillingness to feel anxiety and keep moving in a valued direction = panic.

Sadness, loss, anxiety, or anger + unwillingness to feel sadness, loss, anxiety, or anger while moving in a valued direction = depression.

Pain + unwillingness to feel pain = trauma.

 

[Daniel E.]

"Life is indeed difficult, partly because of the real difficulties we must overcome in order to survive, and partly because of our own innate desire to always do better, to overcome new challenges, to self-actualize. Happiness is experienced largely in striving towards a goal, not in having attained things, because our nature is always to want to go on to the next endeavor."

~ Albert Ellis

 

[Daniel E.]

The PISSED Syndrome — Psychiatric Clinical Faculty Association at UCLA

The following article began as a discussion over Sunday brunch with three close friends who are all active or retired psychotherapists.

www.pcfala.net

"...a level of contentment that replaces the drug of grandiosity with the stability of self-acceptance."

 

[Daniel E.]

For there is always light,
if only we're brave enough to see it.
If only we're brave enough to be it.

~ from “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman

 

[Daniel E.]

Evolution has shaped our brains so that we are hardwired to suffer psychologically: to compare, evaluate, and criticize ourselves, to focus on what we’re lacking, to rapidly become dissatisfied with what we have, and to imagine all sorts of frightening scenarios, most of which will never happen. No wonder humans find it hard to be happy!

~ Russ Harris, The Happiness Trap: How To Stop Struggling And Start Living

 

[Daniel E.]

Self-as-context - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Self-as-context, one of the core principles in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), is the concept that people are not the content of their thoughts or feelings, but rather the consciousness experiencing said thoughts and feelings.

 

[Daniel E.]

ACT Book Summary: Pages 105 - 110 | Association for Contextual Behavioral Science

contextualscience.org

Barriers to Giving Up the Unworkable System
It can be hard for clients to give up unworkable control strategies because previously avoided material quickly shows up in consciousness and there's no clear alternative. Metaphors that can be useful here include:

Feedback Screech Metaphor, which illustrates how control moves amplify the inherent discomfort in living and make "tiptoeing around the stage" seem like a good solution; and

Sports and Activities Metaphors, in which practice makes better, you have to "step up to the plate" or "get in the water," and overthinking interferes with the process.

Letting Go of the Struggle as an Alternative
Tug of War with a Monster Metaphor illustrates that letting go of the struggle with unwanted private experiences can be a more workable strategy than trying to win the struggle. Clients may want to know how to "let go of the rope" and describing the process would be a bit like describing how to swim or hit a baseball or drive a car: better learned by experience.

 

[Daniel E.]

“Stop trying to control how you feel, and instead take control of what you do.”

“The more importance we place on avoiding unpleasant feelings in life, the more our life tends to go downhill.”

― Russ Harris, ACT with Love (free with Kindle Unlimited)

 

[Daniel E.]

 

[Daniel E.]

PPT - Trauma, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Self-Care, and Love PowerPoint Presentation - ID:1850909

Trauma, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Self-Care, and Love. Barbara Kohlenberg , Ph.D. University of Nevada School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science (775)682-8440 bkohlenberg@medicine.nevada.edu.

www.slideserve.com

Acceptance and the Field of Trauma • Acceptance suggests: • The wholeness is already there… • We are fundamentally whole, with our histories, our painful events, our joys, our sorrows, our loves.

• Examples • Unwanted thoughts and feelings, memories/values • Grief/family • Abuse/Intimacy • Medical error/valued caregiving
• Acceptance and Values • Why accept? • It must be in the service of something powerful, not just the alleviation of pain. • Tombstone Metaphor • Funeral Metaphor • Bus metaphor • Coin metaphor
• The notion of self acceptance and compassion being central to one’s own peace as well as to being able to give to others is not new.

 

[Daniel E.]

"The best we can do is lean towards the light.”​

— Joseph Campbell

 

[Daniel E.]

ACT Made Simple

NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER: Due to the recent illegal counterfeiting of this book, we cannot guarantee book quality when purchased through third-party sellers.Now fully-revised and updated, this second edition of ACT Made Simple includes new information and chapters on self-compassion, flexible...

www.google.com

 

[Daniel E.]

"Why accept? It must be in the service of something powerful, not just the alleviation of pain."

~ Barbara Kohlenberg , Ph.D.

 

[Daniel E.]

How to Stop Catastrophizing: An Expert’s Guide

A clinical psychologist suggests a three-pronged plan for tackling anxiety and approaching each day logically and positively.

getpocket.com

Accept yourself. Anxiety is energy: if you are an anxious person, celebrate! However, why waste that energy feeling uncomfortable and preparing yourself for circumstances that will almost certainly never occur? Look for enjoyable ways to challenge yourself and use your energy more positively: taking regular aerobic exercise; learning something new; taking up a creative passion.

 

[Daniel E.]

Writing Doubt | Writers In The Storm

How to power through the doubt of writing

writersinthestormblog.com

Doubt is omnipotent for writers. I’m sure even Stephen King occasionally believes he produces crap. (Right?) Acknowledge the doubt; accept it. Acceptance doesn’t make you a quitter. It gives you power. Think of it as waving to a talkative houseguest and saying, “I can’t chat right now but feel free to forage for breakfast. We’ll catch up later. ‘Bye!”

 

[Daniel E.]

Introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - ppt download

Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life…and Into Your Therapy Sessions

slideplayer.com

 

[Daniel E.]

~ Russ Harris, The Happiness Trap

 

[Daniel E.]

What is "Better"?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Second Edition

Changing bad feelings is a process goal. Living well is an outcome goal...The client "felt better" when drinking, but feeling better did not lead to a better life: indeed, drinking made her life much less livable. Achieving the process goal (feeling better) was actually negatively related to the outcome goal (living a rewarding life).

 

[Daniel E.]

"There’s more to ACT than developing mindfulness skills; it also involves clarifying your core values – your heart’s deepest desires for how you want to behave as a human being – and using those values
to motivate, inspire and guide your ongoing action. When mindfulness, values and committed action come together, they give rise to 'psychological flexibility’: the ability to take effective action, guided by values, with awareness, openness and focus."

~ Russ Harris, The Confidence Gap