Quotes from Steven C. Hayes

Does the client experience life as merely imposed or rather as something he or she can author in a meaningful and ongoing way?

ACT uses acceptance and mindfulness processes and commitment and behavioral activation processes to produce psychological flexibility. It seeks to bring human language and cognition under better contextual control so as to overcome the repertoire-narrowing effects of an excessive reliance on a problem-solving mode of mind as well as to promote a more open, centered, and engaged approach to living.

Another key process in the cycle of suffering is experiential avoidance. It is an immediate consequence of fusing with mental instructions that encourage the suppression, control, or elimination of experiences expected to be distressing.

Deictic framing can be successfully taught, however, and when it is, perspective-taking and theory-of-mind skills improve

The truth about mental health is that the causes of all of the mental conditions you hear about are unknown, and the idea that "hidden diseases" lurk behind human suffering is an out-and-out failure.

Hmmm. Let's do this and see what happens. Say out loud, 'I can't stand up or I will have a panic attack,' and then while doing that, slowly stand up").

Comparison and Evaluation. Listen for excessive comparison and evaluation in the client's speech, as contrasted with description. The clinician can probe the strength of such patterns of fusion by asking the client to simply describe the troublesome situation and what it evokes without injecting evaluations. Clients with high levels of fusion may not be able respond at all or may quickly lapse, injecting personal evaluations into the ongoing narrative.

For example, the client who values education might be asked, "What if you received the education, but no one knew. Would that still be of importance?