Publication
Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science (2020)
Related Domains
Complex Verbal Behavior
Committed Action
Body Text
This article explores how experiences involving altered or expanded senses of self may relate to the development of psychological flexibility, a core process within Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and contextual behavioral science. The paper examines emerging research on psychedelic-assisted experiences and argues that many of the reported therapeutic effects of psychedelics may operate through processes already emphasized within ACT and Relational Frame Theory.
In particular, the authors focus on “self-as-context,” or the flexible perspective-taking repertoire that allows individuals to observe thoughts, emotions, memories, and identities without becoming rigidly fused with them. The article suggests that psychedelic experiences often temporarily weaken overly rigid verbal constructions of the self, potentially increasing openness, connectedness, perspective taking, and behavioral flexibility.
The paper integrates psychological, behavioral, and neurobiological findings to argue that the human sense of self is not a fixed entity but a dynamic relational process shaped by language, social learning, and contextual histories. Drawing from RFT, the authors conceptualize self-related suffering as emerging when individuals become overly entangled with verbally constructed identities, narratives, and evaluative relational networks.
Citation
Hayes, S. C., Law, S., Malady, M., Zhu, Z., & Bai, X. (2020). The centrality of sense of self in psychological flexibility processes: What the neurobiological and psychological correlates of psychedelics suggest. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science.