This Valued Domains information handout is designed to introduce valued domains in an accessible way, and to help clients clarify their values in different areas of their lives, such as their wider family, intimate relationships, work, and spiritual life.
Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Values are the “principles for living” that capture what matters most to people. Elucidating values can serve many therapeutic functions, such as clarifying one’s sense of purpose, informing goal setting and treatment planning, and motivating clients to engage with difficult experiences or challenging therapeutic tasks. Values-focused interventions have a long history in talking therapy and are used in many approaches, with acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) being a notable modern example. This Valued Domains information handout is designed to introduce valued domains in an accessible way, and to help clients clarify their values in different areas of their lives, such as their wider family, intimate relationships, work, and spiritual life. Exploring the domains in which values are enacted is an effective and highly motivating introduction to the concept of values for clients, in a way which also promotes psychological flexibility.
Exploring the domains in which values are enacted can help clients:
Enhancing motivation and activity through values exploration.
Addressing avoidance by aligning actions with values.
Assisting clients in navigating changes with a values-based roadmap.
Supporting clients in achieving a fulfilling life.
Help clients identify what matters most in different life domains.
Encourage reflection on how they would like to behave in each area.
Explain that values are ongoing actions rather than static goals.
Use valued domains to motive clients towards committed action.
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.”
This Valued Domains information handout is designed to prompt clients to think about their values in different parts of their lives, such as their family, intimate relationships, work, spirituality, and physical well-being.
