ACT & SEX

I've not seen it written about extensively other than in the context of sexual dysfunction and sexual identity.

I did a search of all the book I've written and find that the word "sex" is in 523 files. I opened about 5 at random and we are talking about a zillion things but sometimes it is mentioned in much the same way as you do.

For example in the chapter on defusion on a book coming out in November (Learning ACT) I see this:

Teach the Limits of Language in Rediscovering Experience
“Verbal knowing rests atop nonverbal knowing so completely that an illusion is created that all knowledge is verbal” (Hayes et al., 1999, pp. 153–154). ACT therapists often introduce defusion by pointing to the limits of conscious thought. Various metaphors and exercises are used to demonstrate that our minds do not hold all the answers; that, in fact, there are ways of knowing that operate beyond the mind. One way to do this is to appeal to the client’s experience in areas of his or her life in which what the mind knows may not be enough or even can be detrimental. For example, some tasks involve very well-regulated verbal knowledge, such as how to find a certain website on the Internet. Other tasks are less so; for example, learning how to play a musical instrument or a new sport. Clients also may have had experiences with tasks wherein language actually interfered with effective functioning, such as in performance anxiety, sexual behavior, or “choking” on the golf green. The therapist can tentatively suggest, “Although language and rational thought can be helpful in some domains, what if there are other domains of life in which being logical and following what one’s mind has to say is actually problematic?”

There are vast areas of relevance of ACT work that have never been discussed in detail though and this is indeed one of them. It should be written about (and researched).

- S

Steven C. Hayes, University of Nevada