ACT Book Summary: Pages 267 - 271

The Effective ACT Therapeutic Relationship The chapter begins with the statement that the therapist stance towards the client and therapy is an important variable, and as a result therapy becomes an intense experience for both, client and therapist. Then, the problem of language traps is introduced as a process in which the therapist may fall down itself. The beginning of the chapter also announces the possibilities and limitations of all therapeutic relationships, their lights and shadows. Comments: the last passage of this page makes me think that in a therapeutic relationship, due to the fact that there's a short history of contingencies between client and therapist, words in that context have a great amount of relations, and so, the range of meanings is wide. For example, when talking to an old and close friend, some words, sentences or non verbal behaviors have an unique meaning. Usually it happens the opposite in therapy. Positive leverage points in ACT As a main feature of ACT stance it is presented its sensitivity: its open, accepting and coherent stance towards client. But the paradox of using rule governed behavior to direct and influence the therapist behavior is presented in a quick and clearly way. Comments: I ask myself which are the historical antecedents and conditions that lead to a sensitive therapist. Understanding the word "sensitivity" as a track to therapists is important, but I think that every kind of human relationship called therapy, shares (regarding other psychological models) the fact that therapy is an art, and art is a practice. And in that sense I think that the beginnings of all kind of therapy are mechanical, not only because of the model but mainly because of the lack of experience. ACT in a functional sense Then, the authors present an example of a therapist being caught up by the literal meaning of an internal event and the possible consequences of it. The point referred is not how to "resolve the problem" but how to accept the fact of experiencing this kind of thoughts. The therapist itself must become a living flesh example of individual being stuck by a rule ("Good therapists would know what to do in that case") that accepts its own inner events and commits to therapy goals. Comments: I like the fact that the possible interventions of therapist are not a memorizeable standardized list of sentences, just contingencied, spontaneous responses. Otherwise, I like the impel to consider therapy as a struggle DURING therapy and not a previously manufactured "solution". Observer Perspective Another of the positive leverages of ACT is an observer perspective that takes an extremely care in not rationalizing and justifying through verbal behavior our private events. The ACT model emphasizes the importance of the acquisition of this skill by the therapist, arguing that the way the therapist behaves during therapy regarding internal events is important to influence the way the client will behave itself. Comments: following the argument I agree that personal growing and maturity of the therapist is a fundamental variable in therapy Wisdom is Gained by Approach, Not Avoidance And as an end to my summary, the authors explain the difference between achieving goals and values and the stance of coping them despite of "secondary effects" hung on them. They say that therapist should show this stance during therapy, and furthermore, that they should have experienced such a coping stance. An effective ACT therapist is the outcome of that condition. Comments: I appreciate the difference between merely achieving goals and to live while achieving goals. I always thought that a goal oriented stance was not enough.