Connecting to Values
The first two sessions with Jack involved developing an understanding of his life and of his goals relating to therapy. It became evident that Jack had very unclear values. His life was consumed by work and he was disconnected from what was important to him. He knew his job used to matter and his wife was very important, but had no identity outside of ”CEO”. ACT views this as “self-as-content”: when someone is fused with one narrow identity or role.
Being disconnected from what was important to him, Jack had no idea what he wanted to work on or move toward. He just wanted to stop that cycle, but it was difficult as he couldn’t envision a desired outcome. His treatment plan therefore included:
