The Superpower of Psychological Flexibility
Each of us takes our psychology with us wherever we go. Whether we are at home, work, or elsewhere, our level of psychological flexibility influences how well we can adapt our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in response to the situations and challenges life presents.
If that sounds important, it’s because it is.
Your level of psychological flexibility can determine whether you are thriving or spending time simply trying to survive. It explains how skillfully you relate to your emotions; how you think about ourselves, others, and the world; and how much you engage in actions that matter to you. And, without a high level of psychological flexibility, it’s easy to end up with high levels of stress, anxiety, burnout, and depression.
So, what does it look like to be “psychologically flexible life”? Its components are exactly what many clients seek therapy or evidence-based coaching to find. Research shows that higher levels of psychological flexibility provide a wide range of benefits, including higher levels of mental health; lower stress levels; better personal and social functioning; higher self-efficacy, greater goal attainment and increased goal-related thinking; and even lower burnout at work.
The skills that lead to increased flexibility include the mindfulness, mindset, and meaningful moves that lead to a life with meaning and purpose—our best life. To cultivate psychological flexibility, you need practice. That’s why I created ACT for Your Best Life, a card deck of 54 prompts and exercises to help clients increase their psychological flexibility.
Each card in this deck includes an exercise to rehearse one of the six psychological flexibility processes: present moment awareness, acceptance, cognitive defusion, self as context, values, and committed action. This deck can be used in self-guided work or by mental health professionals and coaches in session.
Using this deck, you or your client will learn how to:
- Anchor yourself in the power of the present moment
- Sit with uncomfortable or unwanted emotions
- Unhook from unhelpful thoughts and limiting stories
- Step back as an observer and take perspective
- Clarify what matters most in pivotal moments
- Show up as your best self in any situation
Try it now. The following exercise from ACT for Your Best Life can help you defuse from unhelpful, narrow ways of thinking that limited what’s possible for you:
“Yes, And…” Improv
Think of a rigid belief that feels true, such as People are untrustworthy.
Now use the improvisation technique “yes, and…” to expand your perspective. For example:
Yes, people are untrustworthy, and I can still ask for what I need and want.
Yes, people are untrustworthy, and I’m sometimes untrustworthy too.
Try shifting your perspective at least 2 times using the “yes, and…” improv technique when an unwanted thought shows up, and see if your perspective expands and becomes more flexible.
You can find more exercises like this in Dr. West’s ACT for Your Best Life: 54 Simple and Powerful Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Practices for Navigating Stress, Anxiety & Burnout.
Learn how to:
- Anchor yourself in the power of the present moment
- Sit with the uncomfortable or unwanted emotions
- Unhook from unhelpful thoughts and limiting voices
- Step back as an observer and find perspective
- Clarify what matters most in pivotal moments
- Show up as your best self in any situation
Aprilia West, PsyD, MT, PCC, is an internationally recognized psychologist, coach, trainer, author, and expert in the field of psychotherapy and coaching. Dr. West has trained thousands of therapists and coaches in applying contextual behavioral science worldwide. She is former president of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS), Southern California chapter, part of the international ACT organization with over 8,000 members worldwide.
In addition, Dr. West is known for developing the construct of emotional efficacy, an integration of emotional intelligence, psychological flexibility, and resilience. She also developed and piloted an evidence-based protocol, Emotion Efficacy Therapy (EET), which combines novel emotion psychoeducation with components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and exposure therapy.
Dr. West is author of ACT for Your Best Life (2023), What You Feel Is Not All There Is (2021), coauthor of Acceptance and Commitment Coaching in the Workplace, (Springer 2021) and The Clinician’s Guide to Emotion Efficacy Therapy (2016).
Dr. West is a fellow with the Institute of Coaching, McLean, affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is credentialed as a professional certified coach (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation, and has additional training and certifications including: the Leadership Circle Profile 360 assessments, Systemic Team Coaching through the Academy of Executive Coaching, mediation and conflict resolution and through the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation (PON), Positive Psychology and Wellbeing Coaching from the College of Executive Coaching, and coach training from the Coactive Training Institute (CTI).
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Aprilia West maintains a private practice. She receives royalties as a published author and is a research advisor for Emotion Efficacy Training. Aprilia West receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Aprilia West is a member of the American Psychological Association, the International Coaching Federation, and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.
