Praxical.Psych
Session simulator

ACT: creative hopelessness and values

The same patient as the cognitive session, approached without any attempt to change what she believes. The target is the struggle and what it has cost her.

Acceptance and Commitment TherapyintermediateSession 3 · The same panic, a different target~50 min

What you are practising

  • 1Conduct creative hopelessness as an inquiry rather than as a trap
  • 2Distinguish workability from truth
  • 3Elicit values rather than supplying them
  • 4Introduce willingness without smuggling in control
  • 5Notice the pull to reassure and decline it

Briefing

The premise

ACT does not target the belief that she will faint. It targets the fourteen months she has spent arranging her life around not having a feeling, and what that arrangement has cost. Symptom reduction usually follows and is not the goal — and treating it as the goal reinstates the control agenda that maintains the problem.

The case

Maya Ellison

29, she/her, veterinary nurse, lives with her partner

Panic attacks with increasing avoidance of driving, supermarkets and the underground.

Read the full case first

The phases

  1. 1

    Creative hopelessness

    Let her arrive at the unworkability herself.

  2. 2

    Values

    Find what makes willingness worth it.

  3. 3

    Willingness

    The question, asked properly.

Educational use only

Praxical.Psych is a teaching tool. It is not medical, clinical, psychological or legal advice, not a diagnosis, not treatment, not supervision, and not a credential. Nothing here creates a clinician–patient or solicitor–client relationship. Every patient, case, transcript and simulated session is fictional. Clinical and legal requirements vary by jurisdiction and change over time — verify anything that bears on a real decision against your own regulator, statute and current professional guidance, and consult a qualified professional.

Do not enter real patient information. If you or someone else is in crisis: US & Canada 988 · UK & Ireland 116 123 · Australia 13 11 14 · elsewhere findahelpline.com · immediate danger, your local emergency number.

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Before you begin

What Praxical.Psych is, and is not

Praxical.Psych is an educational tool. It teaches the theory, evidence base and clinical method of psychotherapy at the level of an advanced survey course, and it lets you rehearse a complete session in a simulator.

It is not medical, clinical, psychological or legal advice. It cannot diagnose or treat anyone, and it does not state the law where you practise — requirements differ by jurisdiction and change. Nothing here creates a clinician–patient or solicitor–client relationship.

  • Every patient, transcript and case in this app is fictional — a composite written for teaching. None depicts a real person.
  • Praxical.Psych is not therapy, not a substitute for supervision, and not a credential. Competence to practise comes from training, supervised hours and licensure.
  • Scores from the instruments here are for learning how they behave. They are not a diagnosis and not a risk assessment, and must not inform a decision about a real person.
  • Do not enter real patient information. Everything you type stays in this browser, but that is not the same as a compliant clinical record system.
If you are in crisis

In the US and Canada, call or text 988. In the UK and Ireland, call 116 123 (Samaritans). Elsewhere, find a local line at findahelpline.com. In immediate danger, use your local emergency number.

Read the full disclaimer