Defusion Skills Homework and Self-Reflection Exercises
Booz Allen
Department of Veterans Affairs
Yale University
University of Nevada, Reno
Key Points
- Use willingness- and defusion-related homework assignments to practice more flexible responses to challenging content.
- Identify responses guided by willingness or practicing direct defusion techniques.
- Therapists need to reflect on their levels of defusion and willingness to provide sensitive and effective guidance.
Materials Downloads
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Transcript
Here’s a willingness-related homework exercise that your client can work on between sessions. In this exercise, each day, the goal is to identify 1 challenging private experience that they are willing to explore. So, on a piece of paper or in the notes function of their smartphone, each day, they should identify: 1. A moderately challenging thought, feeling, memory, or bodily sensation that showed up that day. 2. The situation or context where this private event arose. 3. They should note how they would typically respond to this private experience and notice if that typical response is one of control or avoidance.
Follette, V. M., & Pistorello, J. (2007). Finding life beyond trauma: Using acceptance and commitment therapy to heal from post-traumatic stress and trauma-related problems. New Harbinger Publications.
And 4. What would instead be a response that the demonstrates willingness or acceptance? And then they should note if the person chose to practice that new response or not, and how it went either way. And if they chose not to, that’s okay as well. Right now, we’re just trying to increase their ability to identify alternate ways of responding.
Follette, V. M., & Pistorello, J. (2007). Finding life beyond trauma: Using acceptance and commitment therapy to heal from post-traumatic stress and trauma-related problems. New Harbinger Publications.