General
ACT stands for _______
Acceptance Commitment Therapy
Define defusion
Objectively looking at thoughts, memories, emotions, and mental images rather than being caught up in them
Define acceptance
Opening yourself fully to the experience as it is, not as your mind is telling you it is
Values are qualities of action, whereas goals are actions themselves. Values are ongoing, whereas goals can be accomplished and finished.
Describe a way to use mindfulness in the journey to eating disorder recovery
Examples include: observing and naming emotions when experiencing urges; mindfully participating in a meal/snack to remain in the present moment; objectively and nonjudgmentally describing physical sensations when experiencing body discomfort; etc.
The opposite of experiential avoidance
Describe the Passengers on a Bus skill
Define mindfulness
Intentional awareness of the present moment, or here-and-now, with our full attention, in a nonjudgmental way
Name at least 5 examples of values that someone could have
Examples include: family, education, hard work, health, connection, practicality, creativity, flexibility, knowledge, honesty, etc.
Describe a way to use acceptance in the journey to eating disorder recovery
Examples include: accepting the existence of the eating disorder rather than denying or minimizing; choosing to accept difficult feedback from treatment team; identifying resistance or pushback regarding certain aspects of recovery (meal plan, body changes, removing triggers, etc.) and choosing acceptance instead; etc.
Name one similarity and one difference between DBT and ACT
Similarity examples include: both focus on mindfulness as a core skill, both promote acceptance as a core skill, both provide concrete skills that can be practiced and applied, etc.
Difference examples include: ACT does not focus on distress tolerance or interpersonal effectiveness; DBT does not incorporate defusion skills; ACT emphasizes values and committed actions as skills; etc.
Name another metaphor to help practice cognitive defusion
The difference between pain and suffering
What are examples of values that your eating disorder might possess?
Examples include: perfection, beauty, discipline, control, rigidity, etc.
Describe a way to use defusion in the journey to eating disorder recovery
The ultimate goal/aim of ACT
Psychological flexibility; to create a rich, full, and meaningful life
Describe the difference between the thinking self and the observing self
The thinking self generates thoughts, opinions, judgments, etc. The observing self is able to "watch" the things that the thinking self creates, as a nonjudgmental onlooker.
The difference between mindfulness and meditation
Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the here-and-now for any situation; meditation is a concentrated specific practice of turning attention to one specific thing such as breathing or a sound
What is a S.M.A.R.T. goal? (what do the letters stand for)
Specific, measurable, achievable/attainable, realistic/relevant, time-bound
Describe a way to use values in the journey to eating disorder recovery
Examples include: separating own values from eating disorder's values; identifying values that have been lost or forgotten as a result of the ED, and actively pursuing them again; differentiating between "society's values" versus personal values; etc.
The 6 pillars/core concepts of ACT
Present Moment/Mindfulness, Self-as-Context, Acceptance, Defusion, Values, Committed Action
SURPRISE
bonus points for everyone!
Name at least 4 mindfulness exercises/practices
Examples included: 5-4-3-2-1 grounding, 4-square breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, naming all objects of a certain color/shape, Awareness Continuum, etc.
Read the following SMART goal and determine which component is missing: "Megan's goal is to reduce anxiety. Her plan is to do a 5-minute meditation practice every night before bed, for the next 7 days. She has an app she will use to guide the meditations."
Measurable - Megan is missing a metric to measure her anxiety to help determine whether it was reduced or not
Describe a way to use committed action in the journey to eating disorder recovery
Examples include: setting committed actions around 3 values that are important to your recovery; setting up SMART goals to increase daily practice of coping skills; creating commitments for meal plan completion and sharing them with a support person; etc.