Mindfulness & Acceptance Approaches Flashcards

The therapeutic stance of 'equanimity' in mindfulness-based therapy is BEST described as:

Answer: Stable, balanced presence that is neither overwhelmed nor distant

Equanimity is a balanced, stable quality of presence that allows the therapist to be fully engaged with the client's experience without being swept away or withdrawing from it.

Which of the following describes 'experiential avoidance' as used in ACT?

Answer: The attempt to alter the form, frequency, or context of private experiences even when doing so causes harm

Experiential avoidance in ACT is the attempt to escape or alter uncomfortable private experiences (thoughts, feelings, sensations) when such attempts cause behavioral harm or interfere with valued living.

A CBT-trained therapist integrating mindfulness notices their client improves in session but reports the same distress between sessions. The MOST likely explanation is:

Answer: The client has not developed independent mindfulness practice outside of sessions

Mindfulness skills require regular independent practice between sessions to generalize; clients who only practice in session typically fail to develop the consistent habit needed for real-world benefit.

The 'expanding awareness' technique in mindfulness practice involves:

Answer: Gradually widening the field of attention from narrow focus to broader awareness

Expanding awareness involves starting with focused attention on one anchor (e.g., breath) and progressively widening attention to include the whole body, sounds, and open awareness.

In DBT's mindfulness curriculum, 'observe' as a 'what' skill means:

Answer: Noticing experiences inside and outside oneself without putting them into words

In DBT, 'Observe' means noticing or attending to events, emotions, and behaviors without getting caught up in them, prior to labeling or describing the experience.

A belief therapist using acceptance-based methods with a client who has health anxiety would MOST appropriately:

Answer: Encourage the client to accept uncertainty about health and engage fully in valued activities

Acceptance-based approaches for health anxiety target intolerance of uncertainty and avoidance by encouraging willingness to experience uncertainty while pursuing valued life engagement.

Which mindfulness quality is described as 'non-striving'?

Answer: Releasing the goal-oriented attitude of trying to achieve a particular state

Non-striving is Kabat-Zinn's mindfulness attitude of releasing the goal-orientation of trying to get somewhere, feel different, or fix oneself during practice, allowing each moment to be as it is.