Additional Exercises

Don’t Think About A Puppy Exercise: 

(Niloofar Afari 2012))

Objective: This exercise is an easy and non harmful way for clients to experience the uselessness of controlling thoughts. Useful as many clients struggle with trying to suppress their memories or thoughts but in order to NOT think of a thought, you must think about it first. It is a demonstration of the paradox of thought suppression. 

“If you’re willing, I’d like you to do a short exercise with me. For the next few seconds, I’d like you to not think about a puppy. You can think about anything else other than a puppy. If thoughts of a cute little puppy that wags his tail and jumps on you to lick your face come up, go ahead and push those thoughts away and don’t think about them. You can think about anything else, but whatever you do, don’t think about a puppy.” 

Holding A Pen Exercise: 

(Pia Heppner (2013))

Objective: Showing client that they have a choice to de-escalate efforts while still remaining goal directed especially if the intensity of efforts is resulting in increased frustration, exhaustion, and anger. 

Ask the client what they have been stressed about and how often they are trying to accomplish a task; if it is often and clearly leading to distress then holding a pen exercise is useful. 

“Are you willing to take this pen and hold it in your hand? Now see if you can hold this pen as hard as you’ve been working on trying to [insert goal]. Think of all the time, effort, and desire you’ve put into it.” 

Ask the client how tight they are holding the pen on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the tightest. Then ask if they can bring the number down to a 5 and ask them if they can feel the difference. After, ask them to bring it down even more and to keep only as much of a grip as they need to not drop the pen then ask them to reflect. Ask the client if they can still try to accomplish their goals at a place that is not a level 10 like they did with the pen and to not go into each thing with full force.

Brain Screensaver Exercise: 

(Stoddard, J. A., & Afari, N. (2014))

Picture the words of something you're usually less than thrilled to think about (i.e. situations that upset you, a mean thought about yourself). With the thought in your mind, imagine the words bouncing across a TV screen like the DVD logo that plays when you pause a movie. Wait a few If that DVD logo didn’t make you impulsively click play, why do thoughts that don’t serve your best interests cause for action? (can personalize activity from person to person, like if they’re an artist they can imagine a finger painting of messy strokes that are unintentional that mean nothing to them).

Defusion Exercises for Deliterizing Language: Don't Do What You Say

(Stoddard, J. A., & Afari, N. (2014))

Step 1: Stand face to face with another person

Step 2: Person one will perform an action (such as clapping, spinning around, moving to the right, etc.)

Step 3: Person two will say “I must [insert action done by person one]”

Example: If person one chose to spin around, client will say “I must spin around.”

Step 4: While saying the "I must" sentence, person two must perform a completely different action

Example: While saying, “I must spin around,” person two will clap instead.

Step 5: Repeat steps 2-4 a few times.

Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to convey the idea that a person's thoughts and actions don't have to be linked; thoughts don't always have to lead to a specific behavior. Many people find that they do the opposite of an action rather than doing something completely different (i.e., person two moves to the left when person one moves to the right instead of doing something new like clapping or jumping). While the act of doing the exact opposite of what your thoughts want may be beneficial in some situations, the goal of Cognitive Defusion is not facing the things you've been avoiding. Defusion is about removing the overall influence your thoughts have over your actions.

Eating a snack or meal mindfully: 

Take a moment and notice the bites you are taking. Notice what the food tastes like, or how it feels in your mouth.

Bubble Exercise: 

Use the act of blowing bubbles as a tool to focus on the present moment by actively noticing the sensations of your breathing, the movement of the bubble wand, and the visual qualities of the bubbles forming and floating, all while letting go of any judgemental thoughts that might arise.

-Pay close attention to the inhale and exhale as you blow air through the bubble wand.

-Observing the process of dipping the wand into the bubble solution, the liquid dripping, the movement of your hands as you blow, and the shapes and sizes of the bubbles forming.

-Let Go. Imagine the bubbles carrying away any tension or worries as they float away. Practice the concept of letting go.

Sources: https://moodsurfing.com/acceptance-commitment-therapy-part-3-present-moment-awareness/ 

https://www.carleton.edu/health-promotion/news/bubble-meditation/ 

Letting Go of the Conceptualized Selves:

1. Bring an image to mind that represents your Self at Home or your Professional Self.

2. Notice that image (what is it wearing, doing, with whom, and where?).

3. Be aware that you’re observing it.

4. Notice the distinction between that self and the part of you observing it.

5. Silently say to yourself, ‘For now, I let it go’ – then see that image ‘walk away’.

Thinking vs. Observing:

Take a few moments to think about what you’re going to do on the weekend. And as you’re thinking about it, take a good look at your thoughts, and notice what form they take. Are they in the form of words, sounds, images (like pictures on a TV screen)? Notice that one part of you is thinking while another part is observing that thinking. There are your thoughts. And there’s you observing them.

Source: https://dreddieoconnor.com/blog/act-therapy-techniques/ 

The Heroes: 

(Stoddard, J. A., & Afari, N. (2014))

Think about your heroes. Consider people who have played a direct role in your life:

family members, friends, teachers, coaches, teammates, and so on. Now think about people who have inspired you indirectly: authors, artists, celebrities, or even fictional characters. Who would you most like to be like? Pick one person you really admire. Now think about all the qualities you really admire in this person—not the person’s circumstances, but personal qualities—and write them down. Once you’ve done this, I’d like you to look this over and think about how these might translate into your own personal values.

They’re talking about me:

This activity will help you to recognize some of your own important values. Imagine you phone a friend, but due to a technical fault you can hear your friend talking to somebody else who knows you very well. And very soon, you realize that they are talking about YOU! You’ll obviously be very interested in what they are saying about you… so you continue listening. Think about what you would most like to hear them say about you – this will point to your values. So, if you’d love to hear one of them say: “Sam always stands by his/her friends”… this would show that you value loyalty. “Sam always looks on the bright side” would show that you value positivity. And if you would like to hear someone say: “Sam always goes out of the way to help people”… this shows that you value kindness. So, for this activity, think of 4 things that you would really like to overhear people saying about you, and work out the value that each one relates to.

Sources: 

Stoddard, J. A., & Afari, N. (2014). The big book of act metaphors: A practitioner’s guide to experiential exercises and metaphors in acceptance and commitment therapy. New Harbinger Publications.

https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/activate-your-life/guides/activate-online-act-4-activities-english/

SMART Goals:

1. Setting SMART Goals – Create goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. 

This structure helps ensure your goals are clear and attainable.

2. Creating Action Plans – Break your goals into smaller, manageable steps. 

This makes them less daunting and easier to achieve.

3. Commitment Strategies – Use strategies like accountability partners or public commitments to stay on track with your goals.

Committed Actions:

1. A component of my life that I value is … (goes hand in hand w/ values principle)

2. My intention for this component is …

3. The committed actions that I’m willing to take today are… (& include when you’ll begin these actions)

Sources: https://dreddieoconnor.com/blog/act-therapy-techniques/

https://www.manchester.edu/docs/default-source/cetl-docs/values-and-committed-action.pdf