Deeply Functional

In this episode of Deeply Functional, Todd offers a practical guide for listeners who have become interested in ACT, contextual behavioral science, and process-based therapy and are wondering where to go next. Rather than focusing on a single clinical concept, this episode maps out several places to continue learning, practicing, and connecting with others in the field.Todd highlights the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, or ACBS, as the larger international home for ACT, RFT, functional contextualism, and contextual behavioral science, with local chapters and affiliates around the world. He also introduces the Institute for Better Health as a major source for structured ACT and process-based therapy training, including Reimagining ACT in Rhode Island, ACT Integrated in Los Angeles, ACT Bootcamp for Trauma in Atlanta, and ACT BootCamp for Clinicians in Portland. The episode also describes RIACT, the Relational Institute of Applied Contextual Therapies, as a growing regional home for clinical resources, Flex Labs, consultation, writing, publishing, and community connection.The central message is simple: ACT is not something clinicians have to learn alone. Whether through ACBS, IBH, RIACT, books, research, consultation groups, or local chapters, the work deepens when clinicians find community, practice together, ask better questions, and keep returning to what is functional, contextual, and values-based.Show Notes ResourcesAssociation for Contextual Behavioral Science: https://contextualscience.orgACBS Chapters: https://contextualscience.org/chaptersInstitute for Better Health Events: https://www.ibh.com/events/Reimagining ACT in Rhode Island, December 2026: https://www.ibh.com/event/reimagining-act-rhode-island-december-2026/RIACT: https://www.riact.org/RIACT Journal and Resources: https://journal.riact.org/Deeply Functional Podcast: https://open.spotify.com

The provided sources explore the transformation of stimulus function through the combined frameworks of Functional Contextualism and Relational Frame Theory. They explain how human language and cognition allow stimuli to acquire new psychological meanings without requiring direct conditioning for every single experience. Furthermore, the text details how clinical practices like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy utilize these relational networks to help counselors alter harmful psychological functions. By intentionally reshaping relational contexts, therapists can guide clients toward greater psychological flexibility and meaningful, values-driven lives.This is a Gemini Notebook created podcast conversation based on a paper by Todd Schmenk

What happens to ACT when you have fifteen minutes with someone and may never see them again?In this episode of Deeply Functional, Todd Schmenk talks with Kirk Strosahl and Patricia Robinson about the development of Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, better known as FACT. They explore the clinical problems that gave rise to FACT and what working in brief, integrated healthcare settings revealed about ACT itself.The conversation moves beyond the idea that FACT is simply a shortened version of ACT. Kirk and Patti examine what remains essential when almost everything else has to go: real-time functional analysis, identifying the greatest point of leverage, and helping someone take a meaningful step before the encounter ends.They also discuss what experienced ACT clinicians may need to unlearn, whether ACT has become more complicated than it needs to be, and what clinicians must understand before they can improvise with confidence.This is a conversation about FACT, but it is also a deeper look at clinical fluency: how to listen for function, respond to what is happening now, and use ACT without becoming confined by its procedures.GET THEIR NEW BOOK HERE: Brief Interventions for Radical Change - 2nd Edition https://behavioralconsultationandprimarycare.onlinepresskit247.com/http://Mtnviewconsultlng.comhttp://PatriciaRobinsonPhD.comhttp://BehavioralIntegrationandPrimaryCare.comhttp://SpeaktoyourDoctor.comhttp://BasicsofBehaviorChangeinPrimaryCare.com

What happens when a client remains physically present while becoming increasingly disconnected from their immediate experience?In this episode of Deeply Functional, Todd Schmenk explores loss of present moment contact and the subtle ways clients leave the room without moving. Rumination, prediction, analysis, and overexplaining may sound thoughtful or productive. Functionally, however, they can help clients avoid direct contact with emotion, sensation, vulnerability, and uncertainty.You’ll explore:How disconnection from the present moment sounds and feels in sessionWhy intellectualizing and storytelling can function as protectionHow present moment awareness differs from meditation or relaxationA simple clinical invitation that helps clients return to their bodies and immediate experienceClinician takeaway: When the client drifts elsewhere, invite them back into contact with what is happening here. Change cannot occur in memory, prediction, or theory. It becomes possible through awareness, embodiment, and engagement in this moment.For further learning, articles, training, and connection with the contextual behavioral community, visit RIACT.org.

Why can a single word, thought, or memory trigger intense emotional or physical distress, even when no direct threat is present? This episode breaks down core principles from Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into accessible, everyday language to explain how human language shapes psychological suffering.Today the focus is on the Transformation of Stimulus Function. Rather than treating painful thoughts as fixed facts, learn how clinicians leverage the power of metaphor to alter our relationship with distress, quiet rigid thought loops, and create room for meaningful action.Key Highlights & Topics CoveredHow Language Shapes Suffering: Learn why human beings experience emotional distress purely through symbolic language, words, and mental associations—and why fighting or suppressing these thoughts often makes them stronger.Demystifying "Transformation of Stimulus Function": We simplify this foundational behavioral concept for, explaining how the psychological impact or meaning of a stimulus (a thought, memory, or physical feeling) can shift when placed in a new context.Shifting Rigid Self-Narratives: Discover how automatic self-labels like "I am broken" lock us into emotional suffering through cognitive fusion, and how shifting to an observing perspective (self-as-context) restores choice and flexibility.Metaphors in Clinical Practice: See how counselors use vivid relational metaphors—such as carrying a heavy backpack, navigating Chinese handcuffs, or observing passengers on a bus—to transform heavy emotional burdens into manageable, workable experiencesPLEASE NOTE: This episode is AI generated and reviewed by the team before its release.