Values

Values are guiding principles that give life meaning and direction. Working with values forms a core aspect of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

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Client version

Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.

Editable version (PPT)

An editable Microsoft PowerPoint version of the resource.

Overview

Explore personal values across multiple life domains with this structured resource. It helps clients to identify values in key life areas and encourages living in alignment with them. The exercise assists in evaluating values across categories including family, relationships, and personal growth, promoting a values-driven life.

Why use this resource?

Values exploration is helpful across many therapeutic settings. It can:

  • Encourage deep reflection on what truly matters.
  • Support alignment between actions and intrinsic values.
  • Promote meaningful living and personal growth.
  • Complement ACT and behavioral activation work.

Key benefits

Reflection

Fosters reflection upon personal values across diverse life domains.

Alignment

Helps build a life consistent with one's deeply held values.

Clarity

Provides clarity between values and achievable goals.

Growth

Supports personal development and self-understanding.

What difficulties is this for?

Depression

Enhancing motivation and activity through values exploration.

Anxiety Disorders

Addressing avoidance by aligning actions with values.

Life Transitions

Assisting clients in navigating changes with a values-based roadmap.

General Well-being

Supporting clients in achieving a fulfilling life.

Integrating it into your practice

01

Identify

Use exercises to help clients identify core values across various life domains.

02

Assess

Encourage clients to rate the importance of each value.

03

Explore

Discuss how clients can align their daily actions with identified values.

04

Reflect

Facilitate reflection on recent alignment with these values.

05

Plan

Develop action plans to live more consistently with identified values.

Theoretical background and therapist guidance

Values are central to many therapeutic models, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) offer perhaps the most comprehensive and theoretically grounded approach. In ACT, values are defined as “desired global qualities of ongoing action” (Hayes et al., 2006), which function like a compass — offering direction, sustaining motivation, and helping people reconnect with what matters most, especially during challenging times.

Values are not synonymous with goals, commandments, or static ideals. Instead, they are chosen qualities of being and doing — “principles for living” that people freely choose and embody through ongoing patterns of action (Harris, 2019; Wilson & Dufrene, 2009). ACT emphasizes that values must be enacted rather than merely identified, and their power lies in their ability to coordinate action across contexts, promote meaning, and inspire committed behavior.

ACT also warns against treating values work as a standalone or magical fix. Rather, its effectiveness depends on its integration with other core ACT processes, including acceptance, cognitive defusion, and present-moment awareness. As Hayes and colleagues (2012) state, “it is only within the context of values that action, acceptance, and defusion come together into a sensible whole.”

What's inside

  • Resource prompting clients to define and prioritize personal values.
  • Exercises for rating the importance and success of living by these values.
  • Guidance for therapists on introducing and facilitating values work.
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FAQs

Values are enduring principles guiding life direction, while goals are specific, achievable outcomes within those directions.
Exploring values helps build self-awareness and aligns actions with what clients find genuinely important, promoting well-being.
Encourage clients to rate the importance of each value on a scale from 0 to 10 and assess recent success in living by these values.
Yes, our values can evolve as people grow and experience different phases of life.

How this resource helps improve clinical outcomes

Incorporating values work can enhance therapy by fostering:

  • Greater understanding of life priorities.
  • Increased motivation through value-driven action planning.
  • Enhanced therapeutic rapport through discussions on what is truly meaningful to clients.
  • Greater client satisfaction by aligning therapy with personal values.

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References and further reading

  • Lejuez, C. W., Hopko, D. R., Acierno, R., Daughters, S. B., & Pagoto, S. L. (2011). Ten year revision of the brief behavioral activation treatment for depression: Revised treatment manual. Behavior Modification, 35(2), 111–161. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445510390929
  • Plumb, J. C., Stewart, I., Dahl, J., & Lundgren, T. (2009). In search of meaning: Values in modern clinical behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 32(1), 85–103. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392173
  • Wilson, K. G., & Murrell, A. R. (2004). Values work in acceptance and commitment therapy. In S. C. Hayes, V. M. Follette, & M. M. Linehan (Eds.), Mindfulness and acceptance: Expanding the cognitive–behavioral tradition (pp. 120–151). Guilford Press.
  • Wilson, K. G., Sandoz, E. K., Kitchens, J., & Roberts, M. (2010). The Valued Living Questionnaire: Defining and measuring valued action within a behavioral framework. The Psychological Record, 60(2), 249–272. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395706

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