The ability to engage in thought, while maintaining distance from them, as to reduce the implicit impact they may have on behavior. 



Syracuse University

Emphasizing the changing relationship of the individual thinker and thought. Well-supported change processes include cognitive diffusion and non-reactivity. These processes mediate humane cognition by altering the relationship between the individual and their own thoughts, as opposed to seeking to change the form, frequency, or situational sensitivity of the personal thought itself. 

Psychological process change: Cognition

SG;, H. S. C. H. (n.d.). "third-wave" cognitive and behavioral therapies and the emergence of a process-based approach to intervention in psychiatry. World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA). Retrieved November 17, 2021, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34505370/?fc=None&amp;ff=20211014202414&amp;v=2.15.0. 

"Third-wave” cognitive and behavioral therapies and the emergence of a process-based approach to intervention in psychiatry

Cognitive diffusion

The ability to accept and allow cognitive experiences to enter and leave thought without reacting in an effort to change them. 



Non-reactivity

Third wave CBT posits that healthy psychological distance from thought is extremely significant, in order for beliefs and cognitive constructs to not become excessively entangling, be it through avoidance, suppression, attachment or rigid adoption. Overall, what is most needed is cognitive flexibility, in order to maintain the ability to learn from and adapt to different situations. 

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