Clinical tool
ACT Matrix Cards
A 52-card deck that makes ACT visible in session. Each card pairs a key concept with a few questions and a metaphor your client can pick, hold and take home.
$75
Payment on our course platform
- Contents
- 52 cards, in English
- Price
- $75 CAD all in, plus taxes
- Breakdown
- Deck $55, shipping $17, processing fees $3
Cards created by Benjamin Schoendorff
Why cards
Words can keep us stuck. When clients describe what hurts, they often fall back on the same explanations. A card on the table opens another way in: an image to look at, a question to read aloud, something to point at.
Each card carries a key ACT concept, evocative questions and a metaphor. Your client discovers psychological flexibility by practising it.
- Less intellectual resistance
- A visual, tangible format engages people differently than talk does.
- Exploration they can feel
- Metaphors and questions invite clients to live what they are talking about.
- Plain, image-based language
- That works with a wide range of clients.
- A reminder between sessions
- Your client leaves with the card of the day.
How to use them
Here are a few ways to start. The free explanatory guide suggests more.
Individual sessions
Spread the cards out and let your client choose the one that speaks to them. Use it as a way into their values, their hooks or the loops they get stuck in. Offer them the card to take home.
The card of your week
Lay out five or six cards, for example “Dirty Tricks”, “Hooks”, “Tension”, “Surf the Waves”, “Pause” and “Approach Actions”. Ask: “If you had to choose the card that best represents your week, which would it be?” The session opens in seconds.
Groups and workshops
Hand each participant a card as an icebreaker. Build a giant matrix on the floor. Run round-table discussions around the questions on each card.
Training
Teach ACT experientially, with supervised role-plays or an interactive review at the end of the day.
Who it’s for
The deck was designed for professionals in helping roles.
Psychologists and psychotherapists, social workers and frontline practitioners, guidance counsellors, mental health nurses, certified professional coaches, ACT trainers and supervisors, special education teachers: each can use it within their own practice. It also works for personal use, if you want to explore ACT on your own.
Try the matrix
The ACT Matrix fits on a single page: two crossing lines, with “Me noticing” at the centre. In session, it helps your client sort what they experience: what they take in through the five senses and what goes on in their mind, what moves them away from and what moves them toward who and what matters to them. From there, they can notice what works without having to judge themselves. The cards speak the same language.
Move the dot around the matrix
The ACT Matrix was developed by Kevin Polk and colleagues. Benjamin Schoendorff, who created the cards, co-edited The ACT Matrix (2014).
Frequently asked questions
What does the $75 cover?
The full 52-card deck ($55), shipping ($17) and processing fees ($3). Taxes are added at checkout.
Do I need to know the ACT Matrix well to use the cards?
A basic grounding in ACT is enough to get started. The explanatory guide offers ideas for using the cards in session.
Can my client keep a card?
Yes, that is one of the intended uses. The card becomes a concrete reminder of the work done in session.
Is there a French version?
Yes. The same deck is available in French as Les cartes de la matrice ACT, at the same price, on the French version of this site.
Order the deck
Get all 52 cards delivered and try them in your next session.
$75
Deck $55, shipping $17 and processing fees $3, plus taxes
Order the deckSecure order and payment on our course platform · Cancellation policy
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