Psychological flexibility
Staying present and acting on your values, even with hard thoughts and feelings.
At a glance
In plain words
Two halves, Not cognitive flexibility, Six ways to get stuck
See all 3Examples
Inflexible: avoiding, Inflexible: present but not there, Values chosen for the wrong reasons …
See all 6Where it comes from
From avoidance to flexibility, A definition from ACT
See all 2What the research says
Health, Work and family, Measurement doubts
See all 3Connections
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), A Liberated Mind: How to Pivot Toward What Matters and 8 others
See all 10
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Psychological flexibility means staying in touch with the present while doing what you value, despite difficult thoughts or feelings.
- Its opposite, inflexibility, is rigid avoidance and getting lost in thoughts.
- It is the main thing Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) tries to build.
- It is different from cognitive flexibility, which is about switching attention between tasks.
Why it matters
- It is the single target of ACT, and studies link it to better mental health, work life and pain tolerance.
Key facts
- In short
- Being open, present and doing what matters, even when it hurts2
- Built from
- Six processes: acceptance, defusion, present moment, self-as-context, values, committed action1
- Opposite
- Psychological inflexibility, linked to fusion, avoidance and a lack of chosen values4
- Measured with
- The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ) and its revision, the AAQ-II1
- Evidence
- A 2005 meta-analysis found the six processes explained about 16–29% of variance in psychopathology2
In plain words
-
Two halves2
Opening up to whatever you feel, and still moving in the direction you care about.
-
Not cognitive flexibility1
Cognitive flexibility is switching between tasks or ideas; psychological flexibility is about how you handle inner experience.
-
Six ways to get stuck4
ACT describes inflexibility as emotional, cognitive and attentional rigidity, poor perspective taking, unclear values and no values-based action.
Examples
-
Inflexible: avoiding5
Avoiding social gatherings because of the anxiety and negative thoughts they bring, or putting off an important task because of the discomfort it stirs up.
-
Inflexible: present but not there5
Going to the gathering but not really taking part, because all your effort goes into managing worry about how others see you.
-
Values chosen for the wrong reasons3
ACT works to loosen values picked out of compliance or fusion, such as "I should value X", "A good person would value Y" or "My mother wants me to value Z".
-
Willingness6
Being willing to feel anxiety does not mean liking or wanting it; it means allowing it in order to do something you value.
-
Flexible: anxious and still going6
After ACT, a socially anxious client was socialising a lot more and enjoying it. Thoughts of being "boring" still came, and anxiety still showed up, but they no longer steered him.
-
Persist when it serves values3
Illustration: someone who values being there for their child stays through the school play with a racing heart, rather than leaving to calm down. That is persisting in behaviour because it serves a valued end.
Where it comes from
-
From avoidance to flexibility1
The AAQ was built to measure experiential avoidance; it was later decided it measured psychological flexibility instead.
-
A definition from ACT3
The ability to contact the present moment fully as a conscious person, and to change or persist in behaviour when that serves valued ends.
What the research says
-
Health1
Flexibility goes with less depression, anxiety and stress, better long-term emotional adjustment and higher pain tolerance.
-
Work and family1
It is linked to better mental health and fewer absences at work; authoritarian parenting predicted lower flexibility in children.
-
Measurement doubts1
The AAQ's validity has been questioned; some studies suggest both versions mostly measure neuroticism or negative mood.
Connections
Related
- A Liberated Mind: How to Pivot Toward What MattersBookThe six skills the book teaches
- ACT Made Simple: An Easy-To-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment TherapyBookIts goal for clients
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful ChangeBookThe second edition's central organizing idea
- Embracing Your Demons: an Overview of Acceptance and Commitment TherapyPaperThe six core principles serve psychological flexibility
- Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment TherapyBookThe skill the workbook builds
- Learning Process-Based Therapy: A Skills Training Manual for Targeting the Core Processes of Psychological Change in Clinical PracticeBookA central process in the model
- The Oxford Handbook of Acceptance and Commitment TherapyBookOne chapter per flexibility process
- The Happiness Trap: Stop Struggling, Start LivingBookThe skill set the book trains: open up, be present, do what matters
- Trauma-Focused ACT: A Practitioner's Guide to Working with Mind, Body, and Emotion Using Acceptance and Commitment TherapyBookBuilds flexibility skills for trauma
Links
Sources
- Psychological flexibility (Wikipedia) (opens en.wikipedia.org)
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (Wikipedia) (opens en.wikipedia.org)
- The six core processes of ACT (Association for Contextual Behavioral Science) (opens contextualscience.org)
- About ACT (Association for Contextual Behavioral Science) (opens contextualscience.org)
- Experiential avoidance (Wikipedia) (opens en.wikipedia.org)
- Embracing Your Demons: an Overview of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Russ Harris, Psychotherapy in Australia, August 2006) (opens actmindfully.com.au)
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