Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can be used to help clients increase their cognitive flexibility by learning to stay in the present, accepting their experiences, and acting in ways that align with their values and goals. You can use this approach to treat a diverse range of mental health concerns like depression, anxiety, stress, burnout, and some substance use disorders. Explore 10 ACT values clarification exercises therapists can use to help clients identify personal values, increase psychological flexibility, and engage in meaningful values-based action.
Values clarification is one of the core processes associated with ACT therapy. The purpose of values clarification is to help clients better understand what truly matters to them. Values are unique and are freely chosen by our clients. These are not to be confused with the goals outlined in their treatment plan that they are trying to accomplish. This information can help clarify which behaviors could be addressed in sessions. Your focus can shift from symptom reduction to finding opportunities for meaningful change.
While values clarification is commonly used at the beginning of therapy, it can be incorporated throughout treatment to address various concerns and goals. Values clarification can help clients explore and better understand their behavior, increasing awareness of the role that avoidance, fear, and external expectations have played in it. Helping your client better understand their values can reduce short-term emotional struggles and help them set long-term goals.
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Values Clarification Within the ACT Model
Values clarification is one of the six core processes of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is based on the psychological flexibility model, which focuses on helping clients develop a more adaptive relationship with their thoughts, emotions, and experiences while taking meaningful action toward what matters most to them.
The six core processes of ACT include acceptance, cognitive defusion, present-moment awareness, self-as-context, values, and committed action. While values clarification focuses on helping clients identify meaningful life directions, committed action focuses on helping them take behaviors that align with those values.
Values clarification is not about helping clients eliminate difficult emotions or identify a single “right” path for their lives. Instead, it helps clients explore what matters to them and make intentional choices that move them toward a meaningful life, even when uncomfortable thoughts, emotions, or sensations are present.
For many clients, this process involves exploring patterns of avoidance, external expectations, or behaviors that may have moved them away from their values. By increasing awareness of these patterns, clients can begin identifying small, realistic actions that support values-based living.
Why Values Matter in Therapy
Clients struggling with depression, trauma, or chronic stress may have fallen into a pattern of avoidance to try to manage the discomfort they experience. While they may feel as though this eases their symptoms, it can often lead them down a path that is further from what is important to them.
This form of avoidance can leave clients feeling stuck or disconnected in their daily lives. They may find themselves feeling unfulfilled or lacking connections they previously found important. By helping your client learn more about what truly matters in their life, you can help them shift their behavior toward what’s important to them.
Values clarification exercises can help your client find an ongoing direction for their life rather than focusing on a specific goal or outcome. This can be impactful in cases where clients are struggling to find or maintain motivation for meaningful change, such as those struggling with various mental health concerns. Over time, clients can experience improved cognitive flexibility, resilience, and a sense of purpose in life.
Helping Clients Understand Values
The first step in helping your client is to help them understand their values and the role they play in life. In some cases, it may be helpful to provide background information about these topics, focusing on misunderstandings or expectations your client may have. For example, you may find that your client is blending values and goals without realizing it. This is an important distinction because values are unattainable, whereas goals can be achieved.
You can explore values based on what you know about your client’s life and symptoms. As an example, they may value being an involved or supportive parent. A value-driven goal they could work towards is attending one of their child’s activities per week. Clients who value their health may have goals to exercise on a certain number of days each week.
Differentiating between values and achievements can help shift your client’s perspective on their personal goals. In some cases, living in a way that aligns with their values may be uncomfortable or cause distress. This is a great place for you to spend time during sessions to explore how your client can cope with and navigate the distress they experience. This is more common for clients who have been engaging in avoidance behaviors. Remember, when a client’s behaviors are driven by their values, their motivation for meaningful change is not a key factor in fostering it.
Values vs Goals in ACT Therapy
One of the most important concepts for clients to understand during values clarification is the difference between values and goals. While these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, ACT views them as distinct concepts that serve different purposes.
| Values | Goals |
|---|---|
| Ongoing directions that guide behavior | Specific outcomes that can be achieved |
| Cannot be completed or checked off | Can be completed within a specific timeframe |
| Represent qualities of action | Represent specific behaviors or achievements |
| Example: Being a supportive parent | Example: Attending a child’s activity this weekend |
For example, a client may identify being a supportive parent as an important value. A goal that reflects this value may include spending uninterrupted time with their child each evening. The goal provides a specific action, while the value provides the ongoing direction behind that action.
Helping clients understand this difference can reduce frustration when they experience setbacks. In ACT, success is not measured by perfectly achieving goals or eliminating difficult emotions. Instead, the focus is on continuing to take meaningful steps toward valued living.
Benefits of Values Clarification
There are several reasons to incorporate values clarification into your work, including improving your psychological flexibility. It can also help reduce avoidance symptoms that have caused distress. Over time, this can help improve their decision-making skills by shifting their perspective.
When clients begin to see their behavior align with their values, they may find their intrinsic motivation increases. This can motivate them to stop using avoidance behaviors and make meaningful changes in their routine. Clients may also feel a sense of purpose or drive that their behaviors are making a difference. They may feel more confident in their identity when their behavior aligns with their values, which can positively affect their self-esteem, relationships, work performance, and other areas of life.
Common Challenges During Values Clarification
While values clarification can be a powerful intervention in ACT therapy, some clients may initially struggle with identifying or connecting with their values. Understanding these challenges can help therapists provide appropriate support during the process.
Clients Are Unsure What Their Values Are
Some clients may have difficulty identifying their values because they have spent significant time focusing on external expectations, avoiding discomfort, or prioritizing the needs of others. Clients experiencing depression, burnout, or chronic stress may also feel disconnected from activities or relationships that previously felt meaningful.
In these situations, therapists can use reflective questions, exploration of meaningful memories, and values-based exercises to help clients reconnect with what matters to them.
Clients Confuse Values With Goals
Clients may initially identify achievements or outcomes rather than values. For example, a client may state that earning a promotion is a value. Exploring what that achievement represents can help uncover the underlying value, such as growth, contribution, security, or learning.
Clients Identify Conflicting Values
Clients may discover that multiple values are important to them but feel difficult to balance. For example, a client may value career growth while also valuing time with family. ACT does not require clients to choose one value over another but encourages flexible decision-making based on what matters most in a given situation.
ACT Values Clarification Exercises and Techniques
Because values are a core component of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), therapists can incorporate a variety of exercises and techniques to help clients explore what matters most to them. These activities can be adapted based on each client’s needs, presenting concerns, and stage of treatment.
Values clarification exercises are not intended to help clients identify a perfect life path or eliminate difficult emotions. Instead, they support psychological flexibility by helping clients identify meaningful directions and take intentional actions that align with their chosen values.
Therapists may also find structured worksheets helpful when guiding clients through values exploration. The following ACT resources can be used to support values clarification activities, encourage client reflection, and help clients identify meaningful directions for change.
1. Values Card Sort Exercise
Values card sorting is a structured activity that can help clients begin exploring personal values in a tangible way. This exercise can be especially useful early in therapy when clients are unsure what matters most to them or have become disconnected from important areas of their lives.
What It Is:
The Values Card Sort Exercise uses a collection of common values words or phrases to help clients identify qualities, principles, and life directions that feel meaningful to them. Clients typically review different values and organize them based on their importance, relevance, or personal connection.
How It Helps Clients:
This exercise can help clients increase awareness of their priorities, beliefs, and personal values. It may also help clients identify values they have neglected or areas where their current behaviors are not consistent with what matters most to them.
How to Do It:
Provide your client with a list or set of values cards and ask them to select values that feel meaningful. Encourage discussion about why certain values stand out, how those values show up in their daily life, and what barriers may prevent them from acting consistently with those values.
2. Life Domains Assessment
A Life Domains Assessment helps clients explore values across multiple areas of their lives rather than focusing on a single concern. This approach can help clients develop a broader understanding of what contributes to meaning, fulfillment, and personal well-being.
What It Is:
A Life Domains Assessment is an activity that guides clients through exploring important areas of life, such as relationships, family, career, education, health, personal growth, spirituality, and recreation. Clients reflect on the importance of each area and consider whether their current behaviors align with their values.
How It Helps Clients:
This exercise can help clients identify areas where they feel connected to their values and areas where they may experience disconnection or dissatisfaction. It encourages self-reflection while helping clients approach areas of difficulty with curiosity rather than self-criticism.
How to Do It:
Ask your client to identify important life domains and reflect on the values associated with each area. Explore how satisfied they feel with their current level of engagement and collaborate on small, realistic actions that could help them move toward greater values alignment.
3. Values Journaling Exercise
Journaling can provide clients with an opportunity to slow down and reflect on experiences that provide meaning, connection, or fulfillment. This exercise can be adapted for clients who benefit from written reflection as part of their therapeutic process.
What It Is:
The Values Journaling Exercise encourages clients to write about meaningful experiences, important relationships, personal strengths, and moments when they felt connected to themselves or others. Through reflection, clients can begin identifying patterns related to their values and priorities.
How It Helps Clients:
This exercise can help clients increase awareness of what brings meaning to their lives and recognize situations where their behaviors align with their values. It may also help identify patterns of avoidance or behaviors that create distance from valued living.
How to Do It:
Encourage your client to write about moments when they felt fulfilled, authentic, connected, or proud. During sessions, review their reflections together and explore recurring themes, personal strengths, and values that emerge from their experiences.
4. Peak Experiences Exercise
The Peak Experiences Exercise helps clients look back on meaningful moments to identify the qualities and values that were present during those experiences. This can be helpful for clients who struggle to identify their values through direct questioning.
What It Is:
The Peak Experiences Exercise asks clients to reflect on times in their lives when they felt deeply connected, fulfilled, proud, or authentic. These experiences can provide insight into values by highlighting moments when clients felt most aligned with who they want to be.
How It Helps Clients:
This exercise can help clients identify values that have consistently influenced their lives, even if they have not previously recognized them. It can also help clients reconnect with meaningful experiences and develop greater clarity about what contributes to a sense of purpose.
How to Do It:
Ask your client to describe a specific moment when they felt especially alive, connected, successful, or true to themselves. Explore questions such as what made the experience meaningful, who was involved, what qualities they demonstrated, and which values were reflected during that time.
5. ACT Values Bullseye Exercise
The ACT Values Bullseye Exercise is a visual tool that helps clients examine the relationship between their current behaviors and their chosen values. It can be useful for helping clients identify areas where they feel aligned and areas where they want to create meaningful change.
What It Is:
The ACT Values Bullseye Exercise involves clients reflecting on different life domains and identifying how closely their current actions align with their values. Common areas explored include relationships, health, work, education, personal growth, and leisure.
How It Helps Clients:
This exercise can help clients increase awareness of where they feel connected to their values and where they may be experiencing barriers to values-based living. It can also help clients identify opportunities for committed action while recognizing the impact of avoidance, fear, or difficult emotions.
How to Do It:
Ask your client to identify important life areas and rate how aligned their current behaviors are with their values. Explore what factors may be keeping them from moving closer toward the center of the bullseye and collaborate on small actions that support meaningful change. TherapyByPro offers a ACT Values Bullseye Worksheet to help therapists easily incorporate this exercise into their sessions with clients.
6. 80th Birthday or Eulogy Exercise
The 80th Birthday or Eulogy Exercise is a reflective activity that helps clients explore the legacy they want to create and the qualities they hope define their lives. This exercise can be especially meaningful for clients who feel disconnected from their purpose, identity, or long-term direction.
What It Is:
The 80th Birthday or Eulogy Exercise is a guided visualization activity that invites clients to imagine a future version of themselves and reflect on the relationships, accomplishments, and personal qualities they hope are remembered. It helps clients explore the deeper values they want their choices and behaviors to represent.
How It Helps Clients:
This exercise can help clients identify values related to connection, contribution, growth, compassion, authenticity, and meaning. It can also help clients move beyond short-term concerns and consider the broader direction they want their life to take.
How to Do It:
Invite your client to imagine a future milestone, such as their 80th birthday celebration or a meaningful reflection of their life shared by someone important to them. Ask what they would hope others would say about them, what relationships they would value, and what qualities they would want to embody. Explore the values reflected in their responses and identify small actions that support those values.
7. Toward Moves and Away Moves Exercise
The Toward Moves and Away Moves Exercise helps clients examine how their responses to difficult thoughts, emotions, and situations influence their ability to live according to their values. This activity connects directly with ACT’s focus on psychological flexibility and reducing patterns of experiential avoidance.
What It Is:
The Toward Moves and Away Moves Exercise helps clients identify behaviors that move them closer to their values and behaviors that move them away from what matters to them. A “toward move” represents an action aligned with values, while an “away move” often involves attempts to avoid discomfort that may create distance from meaningful living.
How It Helps Clients:
This exercise can help clients recognize avoidance patterns and increase awareness of how their choices impact their ability to engage in valued activities. It encourages clients to consider what they can do differently while accepting that discomfort may still be present.
How to Do It:
Ask your client to identify a recent situation where they felt stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected. Explore whether their response represented a move toward their values or a move away from discomfort. Collaboratively identify a small, realistic action they can take that supports the direction they want to move.
8. Values Interview Exercise
A Values Interview provides a flexible, therapist-guided approach to exploring values through conversation. This technique can be useful for clients who have difficulty connecting with structured worksheets or who need additional support identifying what matters most to them.
What It Is:
The Values Interview Exercise uses open-ended questions to help clients explore their priorities, meaningful experiences, relationships, and personal aspirations. Rather than asking clients to select values from a list, this approach allows values to emerge naturally through reflection and discussion.
How It Helps Clients:
This exercise can help clients develop greater clarity about their identity, priorities, and desired direction in life. It may be particularly helpful for clients who feel disconnected from themselves due to stress, trauma, burnout, major life transitions, or prolonged avoidance.
How to Do It:
Use open-ended questions to guide exploration of your client’s values. Questions may include, “What kind of person do you want to be in your relationships?” “What matters to you even when life feels difficult?” or “When have you felt most like yourself?” Reflect on common themes and explore how these values can guide future choices and behaviors.
9. Values-Based Committed Action
Identifying values is an important first step, but ACT also emphasizes taking meaningful action based on those values. Values-based committed action helps clients translate insight into behaviors that support the life they want to create.
What It Is:
Values-Based Committed Action involves helping clients identify specific behaviors that express their chosen values. Within ACT, committed action focuses on taking meaningful steps toward valued living while making room for difficult thoughts, emotions, and experiences that may arise.
How It Helps Clients:
This approach helps clients move from understanding their values to actively practicing them in daily life. It can support motivation, confidence, and psychological flexibility by helping clients focus on meaningful action rather than waiting until they feel completely ready or free from discomfort.
How to Do It:
Collaboratively identify a value that is important to your client and explore a small, specific action that reflects that value. Discuss potential barriers, including uncomfortable emotions or thoughts, and help your client develop strategies for continuing toward their values when challenges arise.
10. Daily Values Reflection
Daily Values Reflection is a brief practice that helps clients strengthen awareness of how their everyday choices connect with their values. This technique can reinforce the idea that values are ongoing directions expressed through consistent actions.
What It Is:
The Daily Values Reflection Exercise encourages clients to regularly review their behaviors and consider whether their actions were consistent with their chosen values. This reflection can be completed at the end of the day or incorporated into a mindfulness or journaling practice.
How It Helps Clients:
This exercise can help clients recognize moments when they acted in alignment with their values and identify opportunities for future growth. It encourages self-awareness and curiosity rather than self-judgment when clients notice areas where their actions did not reflect what matters most to them.
How to Do It:
Encourage your client to spend a few minutes reflecting on questions such as, “Did my actions today move me toward the life I want to create?” “What choices reflected my values?” and “What is one small action I can take tomorrow that aligns with what matters to me?” Review their observations during sessions and explore patterns over time.
Clinical Examples of Values Clarification in ACT
Values clarification can be adapted to support clients experiencing a wide range of concerns. The goal is not to remove difficult thoughts or emotions before taking action, but to help clients identify meaningful steps they can take while making room for their internal experiences.
Client Experiencing Anxiety
A client who values connection may avoid social situations because of anxiety. Through values clarification, the therapist can help the client explore whether avoiding social experiences moves them toward or away from the relationships they value. Together, they can identify small, manageable actions that support connection while practicing willingness to experience discomfort.
Client Experiencing Burnout
A client who values contribution may discover that consistently overworking has caused them to move away from other important values, such as health, relationships, or personal well-being. Values clarification can help the client explore a more balanced approach that reflects their broader priorities.
Client Experiencing Depression
A client experiencing depression may feel disconnected from activities or relationships that previously brought meaning to their life. Values clarification can help identify areas that remain important to them and support gradual engagement in values-based behaviors, even when motivation feels limited.
Frequently Asked Questions About ACT Values Clarification
ACT values clarification is a common area of interest for therapists who want to help clients identify what matters most to them and develop greater psychological flexibility. The following questions address common clinical considerations when incorporating values-based interventions into therapy.
What are values in ACT therapy?
In ACT therapy, values are personally chosen directions that represent what matters most to a client and how they want to show up in their life. Values are ongoing qualities of action rather than specific achievements or outcomes. For example, being a supportive partner is a value, while planning a weekly date night is a goal that expresses that value.
What is values clarification in ACT therapy?
Values clarification in ACT therapy is the process of helping clients explore and identify the personal values that can guide their choices and behaviors. This process helps clients increase awareness of what is meaningful to them while identifying opportunities to take values-based action, even when difficult thoughts, emotions, or experiences are present.
What is the difference between values and goals in ACT?
In ACT, values and goals serve different purposes. Values represent ongoing life directions that cannot be completed, while goals are specific actions or achievements that can be accomplished. For example, creativity may be a value, while completing a painting project may be a goal that reflects that value.
What are some ACT values clarification exercises therapists can use?
Therapists can use a variety of ACT values clarification exercises to help clients explore their priorities and develop values-based action plans. Common approaches include values card sorts, life domains assessments, values journaling, the ACT Values Bullseye exercise, peak experiences exercises, values interviews, and committed action planning.
How does values clarification help clients in therapy?
Values clarification can help clients increase psychological flexibility by identifying meaningful directions and exploring behaviors that support those directions. It may help clients reduce patterns of avoidance, improve motivation for change, and develop a greater sense of purpose and connection in their daily lives.
Can values clarification be used with clients experiencing anxiety or depression?
Yes. Values clarification can be incorporated with clients experiencing a variety of concerns, including anxiety and depression. Rather than focusing only on reducing symptoms, ACT uses values exploration to help clients identify meaningful actions they can take while learning to make room for difficult thoughts and emotions.
Are values the same as beliefs or personal goals?
No. While values, beliefs, and goals may influence one another, they represent different concepts. Values describe chosen qualities of living and acting, while beliefs are thoughts or assumptions about oneself and the world, and goals are specific outcomes a person may work toward.
How do therapists help clients identify their values?
Therapists can help clients identify values through guided conversations, reflective questions, structured exercises, and exploration of meaningful life experiences. Questions about important relationships, moments of fulfillment, personal strengths, and the type of person clients want to be can help uncover underlying values.
Should clients always act according to their values?
No. ACT does not suggest that clients must perfectly align every behavior with their values. Instead, ACT emphasizes psychological flexibility, self-compassion, and willingness to notice when behaviors move toward or away from values while making intentional choices about future actions.
Closing Thoughts On Clarifying ACT Values
Values are a key component of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and can serve as a foundation for helping clients make meaningful changes in their lives. Values clarification exercises can help clients recognize what matters most to them, identify areas where their current behaviors may not align with their values, and explore opportunities for values-based action. By consistently taking steps toward their chosen values, clients can develop greater psychological flexibility and create a more meaningful life direction.
Values clarification can be incorporated throughout different stages of treatment and adapted to address a variety of client needs and therapeutic goals. Professional training, education, and supervision are essential for the intentional implementation of ACT interventions. Therapists should refer to professional guidelines, evidence-based training opportunities, and their scope of practice when incorporating ACT therapy into their clinical work.
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References
- Hayes SC, Levin ME, Plumb-Vilardaga J, Villatte JL, Pistorello J. Acceptance and commitment therapy and contextual behavioral science: examining the progress of a distinctive model of behavioral and cognitive therapy. Behav Ther. 2013 Jun;44(2):180-98. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2009.08.002. Epub 2011 Jun 1. PMID: 23611068; PMCID: PMC3635495.
- Reilly, E. D., Ritzert, T. R., Scoglio, A. A. J., Mote, J., Fukuda, S. D., Ahern, M. E., & Kelly, M. M. (2019). A systematic review of values measures in acceptance and commitment therapy research. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 12, 290–304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2018.10.005
- Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. https://www.guilford.com/books/Acceptance-and-Commitment-Therapy/Hayes-Strosahl-Wilson/9781462528943