Self-as-context, one of the core principles in acceptance and commitment therapy, is the concept that people are not the content of their thoughts or feelings, but rather the consciousness experience said thoughts and feelings. Self-as-context is distinguished from self-as-content, defined in ACT as the social scripts people maintain about who they are and how they operate in the world.
Buddhist influence
practices in conjunction with functional contextualism deeply influenced the formation of ACT and its concept of self-as-context. The approach was originally called comprehensive distancing and was developed in the late 1980s by Steven C. Hayes, Kelly G. Wilson, and Kirk Strosahl.
Self-as-context vs. self-as-content
To differentiate self-as-context from self-as-content, ACT presents the conceptual self, the thinking self, and the observational self.
Conceptual self
The conceptual self is a person's self-as-content. A personal narrative, the conceptual self includes objective facts, subjective details, social roles, and gender roles. When a person "holds" their conceptual self lightly then their identity construct is adaptable, however, should a person become unable to differentiate themselves from the rules and restrictions comprising their conceptual self then, according to ACT, they may struggle in different areas of their life. Examples include saying things like "I wish I could, but I'm not the sort of person to _____" or "I'm a strong person, I don't need any help."
Thinking self
The thinking self is the inner monologue actively assessing, questioning, judging, reasoning, and rationalizing any given moment, situation, or behavior. The relationship between the participant and participant-observer is described in Russ Harris' The Happiness Trap as being like that of an actor and director:
Observational self
The observational self is defined in ACT as a transcendent state of self-awareness accessible through mindful expansion of awareness. In ACT cognitive defusion exercises are utilized to demonstrate how thoughts have no literal power over action, thereby increasing mental flexibility. If someone thinks "I am the worst," for example, a cognitive defusion exercise would observe "I am having the thought that I am the worst." Other exercises demonstrating how thoughts have no actual power include saying "I can't walk and talk" while proceeding to walk and talk, or saying "I have to stand up" while remaining seated. Experientially, the observational self is the part of consciousness that hears one's inner voice, and sees images in the mind's eye. ACT presents the idea that the more practiced a person is at accessing their observational self, the easier it is to perceive emotions within their situational context, remain mentally flexible, and commit to value congruent action.
Additions to self-as-content
Somatic self
Self-as-content also includes the nonverbalsense of self experienced through physiological responses, including instinct, attraction, repulsion, and emotional affect. In ACT for Gender Identity: The Comprehensive Guide, Alex Stitt differentiates the somatic self from the thinking self and says that a person's relationship with their body begins to develop before their inner monologue. Since gender is more than just a thought, and identity is often described in "felt" terms, the somatic self accounts for the sense of "resonance" and "dissonance" either attracting or repelling people to certain aspects of gender and gender expression. Unlike the observational self, which is able to step back and see self-as-context, the somatic self can be as unreliable as the thinking self. Examples of this include when a person's physiological fear response is triggered in moments of safety, when a person is in a dissociative state, or when a person's affect is incogruent with their content of speech.
