Passengers On A Bus - an Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) Metaphor
Video Overview & Insights
This is a video I helped to create based on the Acceptance & Commitment Therapy metaphor: Passengers on the Buss. It sets out how you can relate differently to unwanted or difficult thoughts, feelings and emotions so that they are less impactful and you can continue with your chosen life direction.
Can't wait to tell my therapist I have no idea what this meant
You can download the full animation from here: http://actforpsychosis.com/videos/passengers.mp4
or from here:
Thoughts create emotions which overpower me.
This metaphor isn’t working for me
https://tinyurl.com/passengersonthebusanimation
ABOUT DR JOE OLIVER
Looking forward to catching the bus!
Joe is a consultant clinical psychologist and founder of Contextual Consulting, an organisation providing acceptance and commitment therapy training, supervision and therapy. He is associate professor and overall programme director for the University College London CBT for Severe Mental Health Problems post graduate programme. He has written several books on the topic of ACT.
ABOUT CONTEXTUAL CONSULTING
I've already been through this therapy.
The main flaws of this metaphor:
Confusing roles
The passengers are supposed to represent our “inner voices” (thoughts and emotions), but at the same time they behave like real people — shouting, threatening, having their own needs. This creates confusion.
Too radical separation
It suggests the driver can completely ignore the passengers and just drive wherever he wants. In reality, it’s not that easy to separate the “driver” from the “passengers” — our values, emotions, and thoughts are deeply intertwined.
The egoism problem
On a literal level the driver behaves like a sociopath. The metaphor struggles with the fact that for most people, their values include caring about others. When the driver goes “his own way,” it’s very easy to read it as “my needs above everything else.”
Oversimplified view of control
In real life, there often isn’t a clean “steering wheel.” Sometimes the passengers (fear, trauma, depression) completely take over the bus and the driver becomes paralyzed. The metaphor doesn’t show this very well.
Contextual Consulting was founded in 2012 by Dr Joe Oliver, a clinical psychologist, and associate professor at University College London. The business was born out of Joe’s deep passion for ACT, both in his professional practice and personal life, Joe recognised the immense potential of ACT in facilitating positive transformations and personal growth. A primary goal for him was to disseminate the principles of ACT to a wide audience, enabling more individuals to benefit from its empowering approach.
In recent years, there has been a remarkable surge in global interest and engagement with ACT across various fields and disciplines. This exponential growth reflects the increasing desire for individuals worldwide to deepen their understanding and application of ACT principles in their personal and professional lives.
That was really helpful because that's how I feel sometimes got passengers on my bus and I want them to get off or just be quiet
Our goal continues to be the connection of the ACT community through training, supervision and therapy referrals.
JOIN US
my therapist sent me this and said "sorry it's so trippy and psychedelic :("
Instagram: / contextualconsulting
Facebook: / contextualconsulting
Damn, this showed me how good I am at unknowingly developing and using metaphors using concepts my client actually cares about. 😮
LinkedIn: / contextual-consulting-ltd
X/Twitter: https://x.com/contextconsult
The bus driver is selfish, who doesn’t give a damn about the passengers or their needs. He acts in a completely anti-social and criminal manner. Someone might have a hospital appointment, someone else might be rushing to catch a train – he couldn’t care less. He’s totally self-obsessed and lost in his childish delusions. He hijacks the bus full of passengers and just drives out of the city. Like a little kid playing rally driver. To be continued: the driver will get fired and end up in prison for kidnapping the bus with all the passengers.
More User Perspectives
strong work!
@progresspedalsI never thought I’d say this, but I wish someone had told me this 35 years ago 🥲
@argonaut5520I’m watching this because my tutor told me to
@annaamaranon4266Rogers Behavioural Health
@demigloomLoved this, when I saw the bus driver turn his fear into let’s make it fun and do what i want to do, it made me think of me. Gave me hope 🌸
@janegarvey3201Thank you Phil, Verity & Rhea!!! Love it! Much love Lebisto
@LebistoACT saved my life I was taught to reward myself too whenever I did something hard. Intèviews at the job centre traumatised me so I went for fast food afterwords
Part of me thinks this is nonsense.
Love this! I have OCD
@SunnytwoacresGreat Therapy Aid!
@tewodrosdilnesaw1360thanks @chris
@PhoenixbyAnu_HindiI don't get it. Teach yourself how to beat you up?
@DarkstormyrainHow is the soundtrack in the background called?
@nelem5935Thanks 🙏🏻 Laura
@lifewithamber5752Spanish pleasee
@laurauribeThis is great, I have referenced it in my book-
4Anxiety
4 weeks, 4 goals, 4 daily steps
Many thanks to the psychologist trainee who helped me so much it brought me into a better place
@Starman-b4qMam na imię Dawid mam 36 lat
@PatrycjaRejnowiczHej co tam u ciebie
@PatrycjaRejnowiczI needed this today. Thanks
@ClaytonBatesShopifyExpertGreat video
@mrwil97I did not understand how that related to cognitive decision skills can anyone help me, please
Iam suffering from trichotillomania and trying my best to find therapy by myself because no one is around to support
BRILLIANT!!
@TamarSWalker7hahahahahahahahahahahahaha i love the facial expressions so funny
@sagekulpinskiHardest video ever
@supressedmayhem5306This video should have 500 millions views
Our own values, needs and desires guide our bus
i was bawling my eyes out because i was describing all my negative thougths and my therapist showed me this and I LAUGHED MY ASS OFF at the thougths being so mean to the bus driver 😂😂😂😂😂. They really are just rude passengers in my head, i dont gotta listen to these people 😂😂😂
@letmepilottheevaplsProbably different for everyone, but the passenger I recognise as the most destructive is the "make a deal" coping mechanism lady
@NickSheridanVidsPls give the background music name
@HariKrishnan-pf1ecIt's an easy presentation to demonstrate the core idea of ACT. I first watched this video in 2014 when I was struggling hard with a few types of psychological problems. I had a feeling that ACT could be a suitable & applicable method to help me out of the dark hole. Time flies and under God's grace, I have slowly become a person who is not entangled and harmed by the past wounds. So, I'm here to say "thank you" and encourage the viewers who are seeking a more manageable life to practice ACT techniques in real life.
@winnieng6904I can't understand why the same people who travel on the same bus the same time every day never speak to each other. No wonder the world is lonely.
@mooseing22I would like to know what program did you use to create this cartoon…
@clor4973Hate to be that person but I don’t think buses are the best analogy.
I get the message but when the metaphor you’re trying to use is something that’s literally meant to stick to its route etc it doesn’t really work out.
I mean the peeps just wanna get to their destination but mr driver goes ‘you’re coming with me’ and kidnaps them out of the city (no wonder they’re complaining lmao).
Had to watch this in a group session and it just made me chuckle.
Maybe it’s time to make a more updated version?
There’s been a lot of discoveries etc in 9 years and I’m sure we can make a better representation than this x
Wtf did I just watch?!?
@Soggydog33What the hell did i just watch...
@farisalraisi1070I love ACT stuff. This was a great way of reframing the 'demons on a boat/demons on the bus' metaphor. Thank you!
@innerstrengthcheckcan we get a part two to this but in the same art style, love how simple but important the messages are hidden throughout metaphors in the video
@iroosu5542Quite enlightening. It made me think of the final stanza in a song I wrote called Losin' which states:
Never knew what freedom was
It was just another cause
Slipping away
What a strange awesome journey
All I needed was a little courage
Living day by day
Try not to read too much into it. It means pretty much exactly what it says and I believe it applies in many ways to this excellent bus metaphor.
Yes ACT cause all the world is a stage, full of actors and the A-list actors are busy acting and hiding the truth from you and oppressing you. It's no measure of health or wealth to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. This did not change my thinking in the slightest because I have done all this before many times picking myself up from the ground only to be let down again and again and again by the people around me and my own self sabotaging behaviors. After awhile once you learn the truth of it all, it's just a feeling of hopelessness and death. You will find out friends are actors and even sometimes your own damn family will abandon you when things go bad.Of course they want to be around you when you got it going on but the minute shit goes bad where are they?
@ViKingZZ-TuneStacksCan anyone please explain me what just happened here? My poor soul is unable to understand this video. PLEASE HELP ME!!!
@shubhamnimje419This film is a surreal nightmare and I want whatever drugs the animators had when they made this. Whats the production value on this? A hot dog for everone on the team?
@datapeterSo good!
@devanshigala