Am I My Thoughts?

On An Understanding of Modern Psychotherapies of ACT and CBT

by Daniel Frazer, LCSW 10/31/2025

Eastern philosophies and modern psychology, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) suggests that we’re not our thoughts. But then, what are we? How do we identify our state of being outside of our thoughts?

Modern psychotherapies such as CBT, ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), instructs one to observe, objectify and create distance from our thoughts. The aim is to not over-identify with the state of thoughts but then again, what of us remains when we do this?

It would seem then that modern psychotherapies understand self as the present awareness with the ability to do such things as choosing, noticing and responding to thoughts that either help or hinder. In CBT, ACT and many other psychotherapies we fine tune the individual’s ability to discriminate between progress or regress.

But when does this become a problem?

A philosophical criticism of CBT is that the world can be split between adaptation versus regression. This quasi-Darwinian framing, while useful for discreet behavioral change, may leave our inner world, our sense of self and meaning, as lacking nuance. Can the ‘bad’ ever be the ‘good’ in regards to experience, growth and adaptation? And If not ‘good’, can it be tolerable?

How ACT is Different: ACT vs CBT

Where CBT seeks to define and categorize, ACT teaches nuance. In ACT we work with the individual to not just realize that we’re more than the product of our sense of self but also deeply thoughtful beings with a diverse range of values and experiences and resilience. That’s not to denigrate CBT but it’s to recognize that while CBT may offer structure and skeletal support it can not alone, in its purest form, seek to embrace the deep nuance of an individual.  

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