Psychological Flexibility

Learning to be psychologically flexible is a key component to mental health and overall wellness. 

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of psychological flexibility, what symptoms and diagnoses it can help alleviate, and how to help your clients adopt psychological flexibility.

What is psychological flexibility?

Psychological flexibility is the ability to be agile during life’s trials. It is the practice of mindfully accepting life’s stressors while taking control of what you can. 

According to a literature review, there are decades of research showing that psychological flexibility is fundamental to psychological health. When we are flexible, we can recognize and adapt to life’s challenges, shift our mindsets as needed, balance our priorities and desires, and remain committed to our values.

The benefits of psychological flexibility include lowering psychological distress and increasing overall quality of life. 

Acceptance and commitment therapy and psychological flexibility 

Steven Hayes, PhD, the creator of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), indicates in his research that study participants with the markers of psychological flexibility demonstrate  decreased symptom severity in anxiety, depression, and trauma responses. 

Additionally, Hayes found that psychological flexibility improved study participants’ self-awareness and value-based action, while decreasing reactivity to stressors. 

ACT is a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) modality geared toward improving the outlook and coping skills of someone experiencing difficult or challenging circumstances. One of the markers of successful ACT treatment is psychological flexibility. 

Many studies have shown that increased psychological flexibility through ACT lowers psychological distress associated with a variety of conditions, including physical ones like chronic pain and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). 

Identifying inflexibility in your practice

While psychological flexibility is proven to lower psychological distress, psychological inflexibility is strongly correlated with psychological distress. 

As clinicians, we may experience inflexibility—on our own as well as with our clients.   For example, we might disagree on a treatment goal or become angry or frustrated with a client when they repeat patterns or continue to engage in unhealthy coping mechanisms. 

Being on the receiving end of inflexibility does not feel good to our clients, and it makes it difficult for us to continue doing the work we want to do. Similarly, psychological inflexibility in clients can pose obstacles to therapy and reinforce negative thoughts or core beliefs. 

Therefore, it’s important to be aware of what triggers your psychological inflexibility as a clinician, in addition to helping clients become aware of their own triggers.

You can measure your own psychological flexibility through the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II). This assessment will assist you in determining your ability to be fully in the present moment without reacting rigidly. The lower the score, the more flexible you are. If you score a 25 or above, you may want to reflect on how your inflexibility is impacting your life and your practice. 

Let’s explore how psychological flexibility can improve your practice and the lives of your clients.

The oak tree vs ocean

Psychological flexibility is the ability to bend without breaking when life demands change. 

The mantra I use with my clients to help them understand this concept is “more like water, less like wood.” 

Inflexible oak tree

A lot of us are taught to react to stressful situations like a mighty oak tree. Often, an oak is tall and strong. It can withstand many storms. 

However, if the storm is too strong, the wind is too brutal, or the rain is too persistent, then the oak will fall. Branches may snap, leaves could be shed, or its roots might be torn from the ground. 

Once an oak is shaken, it is hard for it to recover. If roots are pulled up, they are not easily replanted. If the trunk is ripped in half, there is no life left. What you are left with is a large piece of wood blocking the road and endangering the neighborhood.

Flexible ocean

Alternatively, when a storm hits an ocean, it absorbs the rainfall. The wind kicks up the waves temporarily, then the ocean assumes its original form. 

Lightning may strike, but it will not set fire to the ocean. The topmost part of the ocean will be electrified, but the lightning isn’t deeply penetrating or devastating. 

The ocean is flexible and can accommodate change without succumbing to destruction.

Reflecting on inflexibility 

It’s important to reflect on your practice and know what situations are going to trigger your inner oak tree. For me, it’s often working with adolescents. 

I adore working with teens—I find their candor refreshing and love being a part of forming their foundational understanding of mental wellness. My own inflexibility comes in when working with their parents, who may not know yet how to best support their child. 

I’m aware that I must practice mindfulness in family sessions and be fully aware of my own feelings and reactions, so that in advocating for my young clients, I am not accidentally alienating their caregivers. 

By modeling psychological flexibility in front of my adolescent clients, I’m promoting ego-resilience, or adaptability in the face of adversity or change. 

And according to research, ego-resiliency in young adults and adolescents has a great effect on maturity, identity formation, confidence, self-reliance, curiosity, and creativity—among other positive qualities. 

When you reflect on your own practice and experiences, can you identify any patterns of inflexibility? 

Think about a client that has gotten under your skin or with whom you have struggled to find common ground. What about that client sticks out? 

Some common triggers for clinicians’ inflexibility may include sobriety treatment plans, personality disorders, and clients in toxic relationships. What was the outcome of your inflexibility?

Learning to be more flexible 

When we learn to be more flexible with our clients, we learn to be more flexible with ourselves. 

By offering our clinical selves grace and compassion, we can show up more authentically for our clients. We can acknowledge our mistakes and shortcomings as providers, without shame, and model appropriate boundaries with our clients. 

Have you ever known you were the wrong clinician for someone and continued to treat them anyway? If so, ask yourself why. 

Referring clients to clinicians who better suit their needs is not only good for our experience as clinicians, but it also benefits our clients. 

Setting this boundary requires us to practice psychological flexibility.. 

If a client takes a referral personally and lashes out, use it as an opportunity to exercise and model flexibility. You may initially be triggered and feel defensive, but instead of acting on this inflexible impulse, practice what you preach. 

Model appropriate boundaries and psychological flexibility by taking a deep breath, engaging in clear communication, and not allowing the activated parts of yourself to determine your behavior.  

Imagine what life would look like if you were to react like the ocean instead of like a tree. Would you be able to handle life’s hard times more effectively? 

Let’s take a moment to practice some mindfulness. Notice any sensations in your body as you visualize yourself handling life with the grace of the ocean. Visualize yourself being strong and flexible and take note of any thoughts, feelings, or sensations that arise. 

Final thoughts

Psychological flexibility, or the ability to bend to life’s demands without breaking, is known to improve many mental health outcomes—including improving trauma resilience, decreasing symptoms of depression, and improving anxiety management. 

As clinicians, we can practice this flexibility to improve the experience of our clients and our own experiences as mental health professionals. 

When adversity hits, we can still control how we react. If we react like the mighty oak, we will stand tall for a little while, but may not be able to withstand the pressures or challenges we face. If we react like the ocean, we can contextually calibrate our reactions to various circumstances—withstanding the hardest moments with grace and plasticity. 

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