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.

What’s Showing Up in the Room?
Feeling lost mid-session? TEAMS helps you track internal experience—Thoughts, Emotions, Associations, Memories, Sensations—so you can shift from story to process and regain clinical direction fast.

Another quick, minimal production time, off the cuff moment with Todd Schmenk.

In Episode 4, Todd breaks down one of the most misunderstood processes in ACT: willingness. Often mistaken for internal acceptance or emotional insight, willingness is reframed here as something observable, shapeable, and actionable—a behavior in motion.

We explore what it really means for a client to "open up" to discomfort functionally, and how clinicians can track and reinforce these moments in-session without getting stuck in abstract language.

Todd walks through:

• How to spot micro-moments of willingness (e.g., eye contact, a shift in posture, emotional naming)

• The role of reinforcement in cultivating sustained openness

• Why the presence of discomfort is not a barrier—but a training ground—for flexibility

Using metaphors like "Hands as Thoughts" and examples from real clinical moments, this episode brings clarity and precision to a process often left too vague.

Clinician Takeaway: You’ll gain a process-based lens to identify, evoke, and shape willingness—not as something a client feels, but as something they do, in the presence of pain.