The ACT Matrix: A Simple Map for a Meaningful Life Life can feel confusing sometimes. We have painful thoughts, big emotions, and hard decisions. We try to avoid discomfort, but end up feeling stuck. What if there were a simple tool to help us make sense of it all? That’s exactly what the ACT…
Psychological Flexibility: The Superpower You Didn’t Know You Had Imagine a tree during a storm. If the tree is too stiff, it breaks. But if it bends and sways with the wind, it survives. That’s what psychological flexibility is like. Your mind can bend, move, and adjust—especially when life gets tough. Psychological flexibility is…
Creative Hopelessness: When Giving Up Is the Start of Something Better Sometimes in life, we try everything we can to feel better, to be happy, or to stop feeling pain. We try to control our thoughts, fix our feelings, distract ourselves, or avoid problems. But no matter what we do, the pain doesn’t go away.…
Imagine you’re watching a movie. To understand why a character acts a certain way, you can’t just look at what they did—you need to know why they did it, what happened before, what they were feeling, and how others reacted. Functional contextualism works a lot like that. It’s a way of understanding human behaviour by…
Have you ever wondered how language changes the way we feel, think, and act—even when nothing in the real world is actually happening? For example, just hearing the word “spider” might make someone sweat or jump, even though there’s no spider in sight. This powerful connection between language and behavior is what Relational Frame Theory…
In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), self-as-context is one of the six core processes for cultivating psychological flexibility. This concept refers to the perspective that individuals can observe their thoughts, feelings, sensations, roles, and identities without being entangled. It is a subtle but powerful shift from “I am my thoughts” to “I am the one…
Value clarification is one of the six core processes in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a mindfulness-based behavioural therapy designed to increase psychological flexibility. While many therapeutic approaches focus on reducing distress or managing symptoms, ACT takes a different approach. It encourages people to live meaningful lives by identifying what truly matters to them—their values—and…
It is the opposite of EXPERIENTIAL AVOIDANCE. Psychological flexibility is the cornerstone of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a form of psychotherapy that integrates mindfulness and behavioural science. It refers to the ability to be present with what is happening in the moment, including thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations, and to take actions that…
Experiential Avoidance means avoiding or getting rid of painful thoughts, feelings, or memories, even when doing so makes life worse. Instead of facing discomfort, you run from it, numb it, or distract yourself—but this often leads to more problems in the long run.You feel anxious, so you skip a class or meeting.You feel sad,…
Cognitive defusion is a core concept within Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a psychological approach that emphasises mindfulness and psychological flexibility. At its essence, cognitive defusion involves changing how individuals relate to their thoughts, rather than trying to eliminate or suppress them. It aims to create a mental space where thoughts are seen as transient,…
