ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the core components of functional contextualism. Functional contextualism is concerned with the behaviour of whole organisms interacting within their situational and historical context. Acceptance & Commitment Therapy sits within the research paradigm of contextual behavioural science, which in turn is based on a worldview known as functional contextualism. Researchers and therapists alike will look to the ‘act-in-context’ as the basic unit of analysis if operating from a functional contextual position. Context refers to the circumstances within which the event or behaviour takes place. The chapter provides a broad definition of context allows to consider where practitioners are reading it, why they are reading it, and their learning history right up until this very moment. Each of these contextual factors will influence practitioners’ experience of reading it.
