ABSTRACT
Another challenge facing ACT practitioners is maintaining the focus of the work on valued directions rather than the fixed destinations that tend to be represented by goals (see the compass metaphor outlined in Chapter 32). It is easy to get fused with the pursuit of a goal and this can sometimes come at the expense of the value that pointed you in the direction of the goal in the first place. One can find examples of this within health psychology in circumstances where people have experienced a life-changing accident or illness that has made it difficult for them to pursue activities that they used to enjoy with ease. It is common for a person to become fixated on going back to doing the things they used to do, fusing with the belief that if they cannot then they are no longer the person they once were. Whilst being denied access to enjoying an activity in the same way that we used to is undoubtedly challenging and potentially very emotionally painful, we would argue that it is continuing to move in the valued direction, rather than the specific activity itself, that is more important.
