Passengers on the Bus: an ACT Metaphor You Can Play

Drive your bus toward what matters while your thought-passengers shout. Stop to argue and you lose time. Keep driving and you get there, passengers and all.

AdultsGroupsThoughts & skillsACTGames
5–8 minutesIn person and on video
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Designed by Michael Thompson, MSc

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Adapt the metaphor if driving or buses are linked to trauma for the client, and adapt the words for children.

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How to play

  1. Pick where you're driving: something that matters to you.
  2. Write your passengers: the thoughts that shout at you.
  3. Drive. When a passenger shouts, choose: argue, throw it off, or keep driving.
  4. Arguing and throwing stop the bus. Keeping driving gets you there.
  5. Arrive with everyone on board, then name one small step for this week.

About the technique

Passengers on the Bus is one of the classic metaphors of acceptance and commitment therapy, described by Steven Hayes, Kirk Strosahl and Kelly Wilson (Hayes et al., 2011). The client is the driver of a bus headed in the direction of what matters to them. Along the way, passengers get on: critical thoughts, fears, memories and urges, some of them loud and threatening, all demanding that the driver turn off the route. The driver can stop and argue, give in to them, or keep driving with the passengers on board.

The metaphor carries several ACT processes at once. Defusion: the passengers make noise but do not have their hands on the wheel. Willingness: the driver does not need the passengers to leave before moving. Values: the route is chosen by the driver, not by whoever shouts loudest. It helps when a client is waiting to feel confident or ready before acting. ACT as a whole outperformed waitlist, placebo and usual care in a meta-analysis of adult trials and performed about as well as established treatments (A-Tjak et al., 2015). The metaphor itself has not been tested on its own, so its evidence is practice-based.

It is low risk, but adapt it to the person. If buses, driving or travel are linked to trauma for the client, choose another vehicle or route. With children, use simpler words and let them draw their passengers. Return to the client’s values after the exercise so the metaphor leads to action rather than staying an idea.

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For therapists: how to run it

Goal

Feel the difference between fighting your thoughts and driving on with them, and name one step toward a value.

In session

  1. Share your screen (in person, turn it to the client) and ask: “Where do you want your life to be heading?” Pick the destination together.
  2. Ask for the 3 thoughts that shout loudest and type them in as passengers, in the client's own words.
  3. Let the client call the choices. After a stop, ask: “Did arguing make it quieter? What did it cost?”
  4. At arrival, point out that every passenger is still on board, then ask for one small step this week.

As homework

  1. Open the link, pick what matters to you and type the thoughts that shout at you.
  2. Drive the journey. Notice what happens when you stop to argue and when you keep driving.
  3. Write one small step for this week. Tap Copy for my therapist, then paste it into your therapist's secure messaging (client portal) or bring it to your next session. Nothing you type is saved, so copy before closing.

With a group

  1. Share your screen and drive one member's bus while the group watches, with their consent.
  2. In a room, act it out: group members stand behind the driver as passengers and read the shouted lines, chosen by the driver and softened if needed; never act out thoughts about self-harm. Then the driver walks on with them.
  3. Debrief in pairs: which passenger do you usually stop for?
Good to know

Passengers on the bus is an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) metaphor. You are the driver, and your thoughts, feelings and memories are passengers shouting directions. You can't throw them off and arguing stops the bus, but you can keep driving toward your values with them on board. If driving is a trauma trigger for a client, use another metaphor (a boat, a bike, a walk).

Worksheets that pair with this tool

Thought Defusion Cognitive Distancing Techniques Worksheet PDF Download for Free

Thought Defusion Cognitive Distancing Techniques Worksheet PDF Download for Free

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ACT Values Worksheet

Six life domains from relationships to community, with questions that end by testing your daily actions.Adults and teensValuesACTMotivational interviewingPsychoeducational+2Free PDF 3 pagesCreating Work-Life Boundaries Worksheet

Creating Work-Life Boundaries Worksheet

Rate four boundary behaviors from never to always, then set priorities and the limits to hold.Adults and teensBoundariesStress and burnoutACTBehavioralPsychoeducational+3Free PDF 2 pages

Sources & credibility

Method
Passengers on the Bus (ACT metaphor for defusion and willingness)
Developed by
Steven C. Hayes, Kirk Strosahl and Kelly Wilson
First described
1999
Approach
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
Evidence
Practice-based (limited trials)A classic ACT metaphor. ACT has support from many controlled trials and meta-analyses, and in a lab study an acceptance rationale that combined a metaphor with experiential exercises raised tolerance of discomfort, while instructions alone did not; this metaphor has not been tested on its own.

References

  1. Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2011). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
  2. A-Tjak, J. G. L., Davis, M. L., Morina, N., Powers, M. B., Smits, J. A. J., & Emmelkamp, P. M. G. (2015). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy for clinically relevant mental and physical health problems. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 84(1), 30–36. Source
  3. McMullen, J., Barnes-Holmes, D., Barnes-Holmes, Y., Stewart, I., Luciano, C., & Cochrane, A. (2008). Acceptance versus distraction: Brief instructions, metaphors and exercises in increasing tolerance for self-delivered electric shocks. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46(1), 122–129. Source

How it was made

Built by the Mentalyc team from the original method and the published sources listed here. Nothing you enter is stored.

Questions people ask

What is the passengers on the bus metaphor?

It is an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) metaphor: you are the bus driver heading toward your values, and difficult thoughts and feelings are noisy passengers. You do not have to obey them or throw them off to keep driving.

How is passengers on the bus used in ACT?

Therapists use it to show cognitive defusion and willingness: arguing with the passengers stalls the bus, while letting them ride lets you keep moving toward what matters. This interactive version lets clients feel that difference.

What are other common ACT metaphors?

Well-known ACT metaphors include leaves on a stream, tug-of-war with a monster, and the chessboard. Each one offers a picture of relating to thoughts differently instead of fighting them.

How do you use the passengers on the bus metaphor with a client?

The client is the driver heading in a valued direction, and difficult thoughts and feelings are passengers shouting from the seats. Arguing with or obeying them costs the trip, while letting them ride and keeping your hands on the wheel models defusion and willingness.

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Your game designer
Michael Thompson

Michael Thompson, MSc

Michael's background combines doctoral training in clinical psychology with research on motivation, learning, and emotional regulation.

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Table Of Contents
  1. About the technique
  2. For therapists: how to run it
  3. Worksheets that pair with this tool
  4. Sources & credibility
  5. Questions people ask
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