Decentering

In 1990, Jeremy Safran and Zindel Segal recognized decentering as a possible mechanism of change for cognitive behavioral therapy and defined it as the ability to observe one’s thoughts and feelings as events of the mind. In other words, decentering refers to the ability to step outside one’s immediate experience and, in so doing, change that very experience. Decentering is focused on the present moment and typically involves taking a nonjudgmental, self-compassionate, and accepting stance regarding the thoughts and feelings one is experiencing. For example, an individual engaging in decentering might say “I am thinking that I am making a fool of myself” rather than “I am making a fool of myself.” Being able to see thoughts as objective events rather than personally identifying ...

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