The therapist's posture

The horizontal relationship: two climbers on the same mountain

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy radically reconfigures the traditional hierarchy between practitioner and patient.

In older models, such as classical psychoanalysis or the medical model, the therapist was positioned as the "healthy expert" who diagnosed and repaired the "sick patient".

This vertical dynamic can be counterproductive in ACT, as it reinforces the idea that having difficult thoughts or painful emotions is a sign of pathology that the expert does not have.

Instead, ACT proposes a horizontal, collaborative relationship. The central metaphor to describe this bond is that of the "two climbers."

It is explained to the client that the therapist is not someone who has already reached the top and is resting comfortably on a lounger while shouting instructions.

Instead, the therapist is another human being climbing his or her own mountain, located directly opposite the client's mountain.

From his position, the therapist can see things that the client cannot see (where to put his foot, what obstacle comes next, or if the backpack is badly adjusted), not because he is smarter or a better climber, but simply as a matter of perspective.

Both are subject to the same law of gravity, the same fatigue, and the same inclement weather.

This view humanizes the process and removes the stigma: the therapist also has a mind that tells you stories, also feels fear, and also has to work to live according to your values.

Shared vulnerability and use of the self in therapy

Since we assume that psychological rigidity processes (fusion, avoidance) are universal and a product of human language, the therapist is not immune to them.

In ACT, the clinician is encouraged to use his or her own experience strategically and authentically.

This does not mean that the session becomes an outlet for the practitioner, but rather that the practitioner can model acceptance and defusion in real time.

If during a session the therapist feels confused, anxious that he or she is not helping enough, or realizes that his or her mind has gone elsewhere, he or she can share this openly if it serves the process.

For example, you might say, "I'm noticing that my mind is telling me that I have to give you a brilliant solution right now to be a good psychologist, and that's creating tension for me.

I'm going to notice that thought, let it go, and refocus on what you were telling me."

In doing this, the therapist not only shows authenticity, but demonstrates live how ACT technology is applied: noticing the private event, not obeying it, and re