Why identity is not who we are—but where we look from.

In Episode 5, Todd explores one of the most subtle—and transformative—processes in ACT: Self-as-Context. Often misunderstood as a philosophical concept or spiritual insight, self-as-context is reframed here as a behavioral process—the skill of taking a flexible, observing perspective on experience.

Rather than getting caught in content like “I am anxious,” “I am broken,” or “I am not enough,” clients can be guided to notice these thoughts as events—not truths. This shift in where one sees from, not what one sees, creates the space necessary for cognitive, emotional, and behavioral flexibility.

Todd breaks down:

• Why identity is a product of relational framing—and how it can become rigid and fused

• How to help clients unhook from self-limiting narratives without needing to rewrite them

• Metaphors and micro-interventions (like “The Chessboard” and “Naming the Voice”) that cultivate a more flexible, contextual self-experience

• How Self-as-Context interacts with defusion and acceptance in-session, and what to reinforce when clients demonstrate the behavior of flexible perspective-taking

Whether you're introducing this concept to a client for the first time or trying to integrate it more seamlessly into your functional case formulation, this episode gives you concrete ways to move from content to context, from stuck to spacious.

Clinician Takeaway: You’ll leave with a practical, functional understanding of Self-as-Context—not as something to explain, but as something to evoke, notice, and reinforce in the flow of real-time clinical work.