Welcome to Deeply Functional, a podcast for clinicians who want to move beyond protocols and dive into the process. Hosted by Todd Schmenk, clinician, ACT Peer Reviewed Trainer and supervisor, the show explores psychological flexibility through Relational Frame Theory, Functional Contextualism, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Short episodes sharpen case conceptualization and clinical practice. The companion series, In Conversation, brings clinicians together to explore their work, ideas, and lessons learned along the way. Less theory for theory's sake. More real world application.
Have We Made ACT Too Complicated? A conversation on FACT with Kirk Strosahl and Patricia Robinson
What happens to ACT when you have fifteen minutes with someone and may never see them again?
In this episode of Deeply Functional, Todd Schmenk talks with Kirk Strosahl and Patricia Robinson about the development of Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, better known as FACT.
They explore the clinical problems that gave rise to FACT and what working in brief, integrated healthcare settings revealed about ACT itself.
The conversation moves beyond the idea that FACT is simply a shortened version of ACT. Kirk and Patti examine what remains essential when almost everything else has to go: real-time functional analysis, identifying the greatest point of leverage, and helping someone take a meaningful step before the encounter ends.
They also discuss what experienced ACT clinicians may need to unlearn, whether ACT has become more complicated than it needs to be, and what clinicians must understand before they can improvise with confidence.
This is a conversation about FACT, but it is also a deeper look at clinical fluency: how to listen for function, respond to what is happening now, and use ACT without becoming confined by its procedures.
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3 Oct 2026
When the Client Leaves the Room Without Moving: Reading Disconnection From the Present Moment
What happens when a client remains physically present while becoming increasingly disconnected from their immediate experience?
In this episode of Deeply Functional, Todd Schmenk explores loss of present moment contact and the subtle ways clients leave the room without moving. Rumination, prediction, analysis, and overexplaining may sound thoughtful or productive. Functionally, however, they can help clients avoid direct contact with emotion, sensation, vulnerability, and uncertainty.
You’ll explore:
How disconnection from the present moment sounds and feels in session
Why intellectualizing and storytelling can function as protection
How present moment awareness differs from meditation or relaxation
A simple clinical invitation that helps clients return to their bodies and immediate experience
Clinician takeaway:
When the client drifts elsewhere, invite them back into contact with what is happening here. Change cannot occur in memory, prediction, or theory. It becomes possible through awareness, embodiment, and engagement in this moment.
For further learning, articles, training, and connection with the contextual behavioral community, visit RIACT.org (https://riact.org).
26 Sept 2026
How Metaphors Rewire Emotional Pain
Why can a single word, thought, or memory trigger intense emotional or physical distress, even when no direct threat is present?
This episode breaks down core principles from Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into accessible, everyday language to explain how human language shapes psychological suffering.
Today the focus is on the Transformation of Stimulus Function.
Rather than treating painful thoughts as fixed facts, learn how clinicians leverage the power of metaphor to alter our relationship with distress, quiet rigid thought loops, and create room for meaningful action.
Key Highlights & Topics Covered
How Language Shapes Suffering: Learn why human beings experience emotional distress purely through symbolic language, words, and mental associations—and why fighting or suppressing these thoughts often makes them stronger.
Demystifying "Transformation of Stimulus Function": We simplify this foundational behavioral concept for, explaining how the psychological impact or meaning of a stimulus (a thought, memory, or physical feeling) can shift when placed in a new context.
Shifting Rigid Self-Narratives: Discover how automatic self-labels like "I am broken" lock us into emotional suffering through cognitive fusion, and how shifting to an observing perspective (self-as-context) restores choice and flexibility.
Metaphors in Clinical Practice: See how counselors use vivid relational metaphors—such as carrying a heavy backpack, navigating Chinese handcuffs, or observing passengers on a bus—to transform heavy emotional burdens into manageable, workable experiences
PLEASE NOTE: This episode is AI generated and reviewed by the team before its release.
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