A useful concept for acceptance is the idea of holding a feeling. You could say to a client, "See if you can hold this feeling for a moment. Just hold it gently, hold it lightly." You can accentuate this intervention by asking the client to place a hand over the part of the body where she is feeling her pain most intensely: "Notice the warmth flowing from your hand into your body and see if you can just soften up or loosen up around the feeling. See if you can just hold it gently."

You can use additional metaphors to take this intervention even further, e.g., ask your client to hold the feeling like it’s a crying baby, a whimpering puppy, or a distressed child.