ABSTRACT
In the exercise, the practitioner writes on a whiteboard or pieces of paper various unhelpful thoughts. For the initial illustrative part of the exercise, it is often useful to avoid the most painful or difficult thoughts the client wrestles with. Most commonly, clients report that functions associated with distance, curiosity, and choice become more prominent, and urgency, threat, and importance tend to be de-emphasised. If the client finds the exercise useful and experiences a level of defusion, it is often helpful to progress to trying the process with thoughts the client is particularly prone to becoming entangled with. As with any exercise, it is important to be respectful of thoughts and clarify that the intention is not to ridicule a thought but to look for alternative, perhaps more useful perspectives.
