ACT for PTSD: Values Clarification Exercises
Booz Allen
Department of Veterans Affairs
Yale University
University of Nevada, Reno
Key Points
- Introduce the concept of values to guide behavioral choices early in therapy.
- Revisit that topic later in therapy once the client is ready to begin working on more focused committed actions.
- To identify targets for action, put into words what the client’s values are in a variety of areas.
- Identify how important each one is to the client and how consistent their recent actions have been with their values.
Materials Downloads
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Transcript
In this video, we’re going to revisit the topic of values clarification. We’re going to go through a values clarification exercise.
Values clarification is an ongoing part of treatment. And a thorough values assessment can be useful early in treatment to aid in identifying appropriate committed actions with the client and to help build motivation for change. We can talk about values, but ultimately they’re expressed and lived in actions, not words.
Moran, D. J., Bach, P. A., & Batten, S. V. (2018). Committed action in practice: A clinician’s guide to assessing, planning, and supporting change in your client. New Harbinger Publications.
An important goal in ACT is to use values clarification exercises to help clients identify their values and also identify how their behavior is values consistent or how it can become more values consistent.
Moran, D. J., Bach, P. A., & Batten, S. V. (2018). Committed action in practice: A clinician’s guide to assessing, planning, and supporting change in your client. New Harbinger Publications.