Being Flexible With “Dropping Anchor” – Don’t Stick To The Script!

This material fleshes out chapter 10 of the second edition of ACT Made Simple

There are many reasons why a particular tool, technique, exercise, or intervention may not work –
and when you get to chapter 16, you’ll learn how to figure out why something isn’t working and
what to do about it. For now, let’s look specifically at Dropping Anchor, chapter 10. One of the most
common reasons therapists get stuck with this type of experiential work is because the therapist
keeps …

Sticking To The Script!

We could create hundreds, if not thousands, of different scripts for dropping anchor exercises. These
exercises are all based on 3 processes, which we can remember with the acronym ACE:

A - Acknowledge your inner experience

C - Connect with your body

E – Engage with the world

(Note: as alternatives, A can be ‘Acknowledge your thoughts and feelings’ or ‘Acknowledge your
inner world’; C can be ‘Come back into your body’; and E can be ‘Engage in current activity’ or
‘Engage in what you are doing’.)

As long as we’re cycling through these processes - A, C, E - we’re ‘dropping anchor’, and there’s no
need to follow a specific script. So for example, suppose you are following a sequence a bit like the
scripts in chapter 10, and your client says:

“This is too overwhelming, I can’t focus on all these different things”

“I don’t want to focus on my body; it’s too painful/ I don’t like the way it feels”

“I can’t focus on anything. Everything feels too painful.”

What that comment tells you is … drop the script! Stop following the script instructions, and instead
work flexibly with the ACE processes. Here are some suggestions to get you thinking:

A: Acknowledge your inner experience

T: So take a moment to acknowledge right now you’re overwhelmed/everything feels too

painful/you can’t focus/it’s all too much/you want to just give up and lie down/you feel hopeless…
etc.

Ideally, use the client’s own words to describe their inner experience. If they can’t identify specific
thoughts, feelings, emotions, memories or sensations that’s okay – just acknowledge they are
‘struggling with something very painful’ (or use some similar expression).

C: Connect with your body

T: (If client can’t speak) Can you nod your head, to show you can still hear me? Okay, so notice this –
you’re having some really difficult feelings right now … and at the same time you can move your
neck and your head to communicate, and you can also use your ears to hear me. So there are all
these difficult feelings here … and there’s a body here that you can use in various ways … to hear
things and to move and to communicate …

T: (If client is listening, speaking, communicating). ? Okay, so notice this – you’re having some really
difficult feelings right now … and at the same time, you’re able to use your body; you’re using your

© 2019 Russ Harris www.ImLearningACT.com

ears to hear me … and your mouth to talk to me … and your neck to gently nod your head … And can
you shift your position in the chair a little, see if you can get more comfortable … So there are all
these difficult feelings here right now … and there’s a body here that you can use in various ways …
to see, to hear, to move, to communicate …

Basically, to connect with the body, we can ask clients to notice anything through the 5 senses while
highlighting the body part involved:

Examples:

• Using your eyes now to look around …

• Using your ears to hear my voice …
• Using your back and your legs to gently change your position in the chair … to shift to a more
comfortable positiong .. to ease yourself back against the chair … or to sit forwards if you
prefer … or cross/uncross your legs … whatever you prefer …
• Using your nose and lungs to gently inhale …
• Using your neck to gently nod your head …
• Using your hands to gently feel the surface of whatever they are touching …
• Using your chest walls to breathe in and out …

We can then highlight Connecting with the body at the same time as Acknowledging inner
experience:
T: So there are some difficult feelings present for you right now … and you have a body around those
feelings that you can use in various ways to see, and hear, and breathe, and move, and make contact
with things around you, and communicate with me, even while those feelings are here ….”

E: Engage with the world

T: So see if you can use this body now to engage with the world around you; open your eyes and
ears, and notice - what can you see and hear? For example, can you notice you and me here,
working together? Can you notice the feeling of the chair beneath you?
So there are difficult feelings here, and a body that you can use, and a whole world around you …
and can you notice what we’re doing here, right now … communicating with each other and working
together, even with all these difficult feelings present?

Be Flexible! Don’t Stick To The Script!

The idea is to flexibly work with ACE, cycling through these processes, until the client is mindfully
grounded: that is, aware of their inner experience, with reasonable control of their physical actions,
and able to engage in the world and focus on current activity in the therapy session.

If the client is responsive to the therapist ... even if they can do nothing but silently nod their head ...
that's enough to make a start on the ACE process. The client can at the very least:

A - Acknowledge they are overwhelmed by and struggling with something very difficult or painful –
even if they can’t express it in words;

C- Connect with their body, even if that's as basic as noticing that they are nodding their head or
opening their eyes or shifting position in the chair or noticing how their back leans against the chair
or noticing their ribcage rising and falling as they breathe;

E - Engage with the world, even if that's just noticing the presence of the therapist talking to them.

Can We Skip From A to E Without the C?

© 2019 Russ Harris www.ImLearningACT.com

Yes, we can. But the C adds an extra useful element; it gives a sense of regaining some control over
physical actions, which is often very useful, especially when it comes to committed action.

Here’s how we might go from A to E without C:

So there are difficult feelings here that you’re struggling with … and there’s also a whole world
around you … so I’m wondering if, as well as those difficult feelings, can you notice what you can see
as you look around … and notice what you can hear … and notice what you’re touching with your
hands … and notice you and me here … right now … communicating with each other … working
together, as a team … even with all these difficult feelings present …

Can We Just Do C and E, and Drop the A?

The problem is, if we do this – if we don’t acknowledge the difficult inner experiences that are
present - then this exercise will probably no longer function as mindful grounding. Instead, it will
probably function as distraction – which is the very opposite of mindfulness.

What if the client has pain from a physical injury or illness?

Then the C focuses on moving or using parts of the body that either don’t hurt, or don’t increase
pain when used/moved. For example, C may be:
“Can you adjust your position in the chair, so it’s a bit more comfortable.
Can you use your eyes right now, to look around?
Can you use your ears, to hear what I’m saying?
Can you use your mouth, to speak to me?
Can you ever so gently and slowly wiggle your fingers?
Can you ever so gently and slowly wiggle your toes?
Can you ever so gently, alter your breathing … see if you can exhale more slowly, keep the outbreath
going a bit longer … pause a second before the next breath in …
So notice, even with these feelings present, you can use your body to do a whole range of things.
And let’s now use your body to engage with the world around you ….”

Obviously, the above suggestions are modified to suit the client. For example, if wiggling fingers is
extremely painful, then you wouldn’t do it.

What if the client can’t move their arms and legs due to a serious illness or injury?
Then the C may be:
“Can you use your eyes right now, to look around?
Can you use your ears, to hear what I’m saying?
Can you use your mouth, to speak to me?
Can you move your tongue inside your mouth, press it up against the roof?
Can you use the muscles of your forehead to raise your eyebrows?
Can you use the muscles of your ribcage to breathe in and out?
So notice, even with these feelings present, you can use your body to do things.
And let’s now use your body to engage with the world around you ….

What if the client is reluctant to move their arms and legs for other reasons? Or is
somewhat ‘stiff’ and ‘frozen’ due to hypoarousal or dissociation?
Then the C can focus on using your body to contact the physical world around you. For
example:
“Can you notice the position in which you are sitting …
Can you notice your buttocks resting on the seat beneath you …

© 2019 Russ Harris www.ImLearningACT.com

Can you notice your back against the chair …
Can you notice where your arms are ….
Can you notice where your hands are and what they are touching …
Can you notice where your feet are …
Can you notice your chest, rising and falling, as you breathe in and out…
So notice, even with these feelings present, your body is supporting you … holding you
upright in the chair, helping you to breath, enabling you to physically contact the world
around you … and see if you can use it a little right now .. to lean slightly back into the chair
or lean slightly forward away from the chair, whichever you prefer …and to slightly lower
your hands and let them rest more heavily on your knees/lap … and to ever so gently and
slowly nod your head to show me you’re with me …

What if the client is just so overwhelmed by their current inner experience, they are
unable/unwilling to drop anchor? They just want to/need to escape from it?
Then we acknowledge that at this point in therapy, that’s where the client is, and we make a safe,
compassionate, non-judgmental “holding space” in which we allow the client to do whatever they
normally do in reaction to this – which will most often be some method of distraction. And we help
them to notice what they are doing and give a name to it (e.g. “So notice how you are distracting
yourself/ notice how you have pushed this feeling down again/ notice how you are numbing
yourself/ notice how you are checking out of the room”).

We then explore what the client did, and we validate it! We acknowledge that at times it’s really
useful to be able to do that. And then we respectfully, gently, compassionately come back to the
costs of OVER-RELYING on such methods - and the benefits of learning a new and different way of
way of responding. (If the client is content to keep responding in such a manner, and doesn’t want
to learn new ways of responding, you will need to then clarify therapy goals – see chapter six - and
make sure you both have the same aim. Often, you’ll need to revisit “creative hopelessness”.)

Over time, the aim is to develop the capacity to be able to open up and make room for those
difficult inner experiences – without fighting them, fleeing them, or getting jerked around by them.
Right now, though, we acknowledge that it’s too great a challenge for this particular client to do that
particular exercise with this particular thought/feeling/memory/sensation. However, that doesn’t
mean we give up on dropping anchor! What we do is help the client learn how to drop anchor with
some less challenging inner experiences.

In other words, we use one of the main principles of graded exposure: we break the challenge down.
We take baby steps; we go gently. We start with less-challenging inner experiences, and we
gradually up the ante. As Aesop said, “Little by little does the trick”. We practice dropping anchor
with less-challenging private experiences first, and we build up those mindfulness muscles over time,
helping the client to drop anchor with ever more difficult thoughts, emotions, sensations and
memories.

What if the client in the above scenario goes into an extreme dissociative state?
We won’t let the client do that. We will carefully track the client’s reaction, and if necessary, we will
reduce the emphasis on A (Acknowledging the painful thoughts/feelings/memories that are present)
and we will ramp up the focus on the C and the E, in order to keep the client present in the room:
moving their body and using their five senses to engage.

Q: Is there a risk this will then function as distraction?

© 2019 Russ Harris www.ImLearningACT.com

A: Yes, for sure. If there is little or no A (acknowledging the pain that’s present), this type of practice
will probably no longer function as mindful grounding/dropping anchor/flexible attention; instead
it’s likely to function as a distraction technique.

Q: Is distraction okay in ACT?

Distraction is not a part of the ACT model – but if that’s what is needed for this client at this time for
coping with this particular overwhelming experience in this session, then yes, that’s okay. It’s a
purely temporary measure. The idea is that, as soon as possible - ideally in the same session - we
help the client to learn a new and different method of responding, that’s radically different to
distraction. Again, think of it in terms of graded exposure: build up your ACE skills with less
challenging emotional states and exercises of shorter duration; then over time, progress to more
challenging emotional states and longer exercises.

Q: Hang on! Just double-checking! Did you just say that distraction is okay in ACT?

Yes, it’s not a part of the ACT model, but at times, distraction is workable.
Just to be clear:
distraction is not mindfulness;
distraction is not a process of psychological flexibility;
distraction is not mindful grounding/dropping anchor;
distraction is not flexible attention/flexible contact with the present moment;
and distraction IS a form of experiential avoidance.
And yes, at times, distraction is workable.
Every ACT therapist, author, trainer, researcher I know – including myself - uses distraction at times
as a personal coping strategy.
And every ACT textbook acknowledges that experiential avoidance isn’t always problematic, and is
workable at times.
So on those rare occasions when it’s necessary, it’s okay to drop the A of ACE, and just use the C and
the E - which will almost certainly make this exercise function as distraction rather than mindful
grounding.
But as soon as possible – ideally in the same session – we will reintroduce the A: we help clients to
be aware of and to allow their emotions/sensations/thoughts/memories, while also taking control of
their physical actions and engaging in the world.

© 2019 Russ Harris www.ImLearningACT.com