Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) Resource Bundle (386 pages)

AACCCCEEPPTTSS SSKKIILLLL ACT matrix HOW TO COMPETE AN ACT MATRIX

The key to psychological flexibility and valued living is noticing the difference between five senses and mental experience and noticing the difference between moving toward who or what is important versus moving away from unwanted inner experience. The matrix is a diagram about noticing—a diagram that can, as it turns out, cue psychological flexibility. It’s composed simply of two bisecting lines: the vertical line representing experience and the horizontal line representing behavior. The vertical line maps out the difference between the aspects of our experience that come through our five senses—vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—and the part of our experience that arises from our mental activity, or interoceptive abilities. As you read this sentence, see if you can notice the part of your experience that comes through your five senses: the color of the screen and the font, the shapes of the letters, and so on. Now see if you can notice the mental part of your experience: the meaning of the sentence, perhaps some thoughts about where is this leading, and so forth. Do you notice a difference between these two types of experience? The horizontal line maps out the difference between actions aimed at moving away from unwanted experience (for example, moving away from fear) and actions aimed at moving toward who or what is important (for example, moving toward a loved one). Take a moment now to recall a time when you did something to move away from fear, and then a time when you did something to move.