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Defusion
Acceptance
Contact with the present moment
Self-as-Context
Values
Committed Action
Defusion
Fusion means getting caught up in our thoughts
and allowing them to dominate our behavior
Rules
Reasons
Judgments
Defusion means separating or distancing from our
thoughts, letting them come and go, rather than
being caught up in them
Noticing thoughts rather than being caught up in
thoughts
Letting thoughts come and go rather than holding on
to them
Getting to Defusion
Begin to notice your thoughts
“So, what’s your mind telling you now?”
“And what does your ‘thinking self ’ have to say about
that?”
Next, look at workability of your thoughts
“So, is that a helpful thought? If you hold on tightly to it,
does it help you deal with the situation differently?”
“If you let that thought tell you what to do, will it take you
in the direction of a rich, full, and meaningful life, or in the
direction of being stuck and suffering?”
Noticewhen you are fused or defused with your
thoughts
“So, right now, how caught up are you in that thought?”
Acceptance
Not the same as approval, tolerance, or even
liking something
Accept if and when doing so enables us to act on
our values
Is a process, not a technique
◦ Expand, make space
◦ Letting go of any urge to resist or avoid what is in
front of you at the present moment
This may mean “sitting with” a craving to use
Recognize that a craving is just that – a craving
◦ Show self-compassion
“I’m not a bad person because I am craving the dope right now.”
Contact with Present Moment
Being in the here and now, fully conscious
of our experience (rather than being lost
in our thoughts and missing out on life)
Helps us perceive more accurately what is
happening
Whether to change or persist in current
behavior
This is hard for those of our clients who
have experienced trauma
Values
Statements about:
◦ What we want to be doing with our life
◦ What we stand for
◦ How we want to act on an ongoing basis
Leading principles that guide and motivate us
Our hearts deepest desires for the way we
want to be and act in the world
Is success measured by achievement of
goals?
Is success measured by living out our values?
Committed Action
Taking larger and larger steps of effective
action, guided and motivated by values
Being flexible and adaptable
Persist with or change behavior to better
coincide with one’s values
Steps to Committed Action
Choose a domain of life that is high
priority for change
Identify the values to pursue this domain
Develop goals, guided by these values
Take action mindfully
From Suffering (Active Addiction) to
Vitality (Recovery)
Fusion with thoughts Being present
Experiential Opening up
avoidance Doing what matters
Unworkable actions
ACT and AA/NA
A perfect match? No, but a great fit.
Both are into-action programs
◦ We must create the life worth living
Non-acceptance blocks us from doing this
Both focus on practice
Both are traditions that are a means to an
end: the end is a better life
Both focus on commitment in the “here and
now,” not the future
◦ “In this very moment, am I engaged in right action?”
◦ “Do the next right thing”
‘Having spent the better part of my life trying
to either relive the past or experiencing the
future before it arrives, I have come to
believe that in between these two extremes is
peace.
◦ Author unknown
Helpful Websites
http://www.thehappinesstrap.com/
http://contextualscience.org/act
Books
Wilson, K. G. (2012). The Wisdom to
Know the Difference: An Acceptance and
Commitment Therapy Workbook for
Overcoming Substance Abuse. Oakland,
CA: New Harbinger Publications.
Harris, R. (2009). ACT Made Simple.
Oakland, CA: New Harbinger
Publications.
Harris, R. (2008). The Happiness Trap.
Boston: Trumpeter.
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