Capstone: Day 15

     My mentor contrasted Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Behavioral Cognitive Therapy (CBT). These two types of therapy are particularly used for patients suffering from chronic pain. The purpose of the two types of therapy is to get the patient to change their behavior so that their pain does not get in the way of them living their lives. While their purpose may be the same, the process by which they are carried out, vary by the therapy. The therapy used depends on the patient. My mentor compared ACT and CBT with 280 and 101. Both freeways get you to San Jose. However, the scenery may be different, the traffic may be more heavy on other, or one might be quicker. Either way, they both go to the same place. He also showed me some exercises that he gets some of his patients to do, which are quite interesting. He also talked about thoughts versus experience. Chronic pain patients let their thoughts overpower their experiences. It not only applies to chronic pain patients, but to us as well- We just don't realize it.