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Values clarification

Values clarification is a psychotherapy technique that can often help an individual increase
awareness of any values that may have a bearing on lifestyle decisions and actions. This
technique can provide an opportunity for a person to reflect on personal moral dilemmas and
allow for values to be analyzed and clarified. This process may be helpful for self-improvement,
increased well-being, and interactions with others. Therapy often provides an opportunity for
values clarification.

Understanding Values

Values Clarification in Therapy

Values Clarification Exercises

Case Example

Understanding Values
Values, which may be described as behavioral standards and needs that work to support a
person's purpose and vision, are often a guide in decision making, and a particular individual's
values can be defined as what that person holds to be right or good.
Each person has core values that contribute to that person's system of beliefs, ideas, and attitudes,
and values often affect how a person operates or responds in certain situations.
Values can be influenced by:

Family: In childhood, most people develop an internal reference for what is good or bad,
important, or desirable and useful. This reference is often based on what parents or family
members value.

Individual experiences: Values are often transformed or adjusted based on life


experiences, education, personal challenges, and successes.

Religion and/or culture: These values tend to reflect a person's sense of right and
wrong.

Community: Values may be shared by many people who live together in a community.

Political leaders: Overarching political values may have an influence on people


regardless of religion, culture, upbringing, or life experience.

If a person's value system is undefined, it can lead to dilemmas in life, especially when crucial
decisions need to be made.

Values Clarification in Therapy


Values clarification techniques are often used as part of therapy. People may enter therapy with a
range of psychological and physical health issues that stem from an inability to resolve moral
dilemmas as a result of undefined values. These issues can include conditions such as anxiety,
depression, high blood pressure, and generally poor physical health.
A therapist can use values clarification in order to help a person explore and define values when
it appears that the individual's well-being is affected. Values clarification techniques often help
people learn more about themselves and develop reasonable goals, and therapy often allows for a

safe environment in which people can understand and develop their own set of values and
achieve realization of their motivations and characteristics.
A good therapist should be sensitive and accepting of value systems that differ from the
therapist's own values, as it is considered to be unethical for therapists to pressure individuals
into developing the same set of values as their own.
Values clarification therapy aims to reduce emotional distress and increase positive behaviors
through reinforcement. It helps those in therapy to identify and clarify the values that influence
their decisions and behavior and encourages them to build on their inner resources and strengths.
Someone who has explored their personal values in therapy is often better able to identify what
will enable them to effectively function in life and thus may be able to make more self-directed
choices.

Values Clarification Exercises


A therapist may begin helping a person determine what values are most important in life by
having that person read through a list of common values and choose the 10 to 15 that stand out
the most. The values are further explored as the person identifies the top five values affecting
personal life decisions. These values become what are known as the person's "core values." The
therapist may be able to make an initial judgment as to whether these values are conflicting or
self-defeating but will likely also need to explore how they are applied in the person's daily life.
Some people experience difficulty with the process of identifying their core values, and in these
cases, the therapist may draw on a range of values clarification exercisessuch as worksheets
and brainstorming activitiesto assist in the process of better understanding what lies behind
thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
In order to help someone clearly identify values, core values may need to be translated into
intended behavior change. For example, a person may identify a value of financial security. The
therapist can then help break this down into specific goals, such as maintaining a financial plan,
carrying no debt, and having adequate savings. This value can be further translated into realistic
and attainable actions such as work full-time for five years, devise a financial budget, and open a
savings account.

Case Example

Recent college graduate seeking guidance: Naya, 21, enters therapy in some distress.
She recently graduated from college and is looking for her first job, but she is not sure
what she wants to do with her life. She tells the therapist that her parents encouraged her
to study at the college they both attended, that they helped her choose a major, and that
they have heavily influenced most of her major life decisions. Naya has always counted
on their support, and she tells the therapist that she has never made any important
decisions on her own. Her parents have suggested several career options for her, and
Naya relates that none of them sound bad, but that none of them sound particularly
appealing, either. She wants to make this decision on her own but needs help deciding
where to begin. The therapist first helps Naya identify 15 values that are important to her,
then together they narrow these to a shorter list. Naya finds that although she shares many
values with her parents, she has grown apart from many of their more traditional values,
and although she recognizes and appreciates their support and encouragement, she is
ready to start making decisions on her own. She decides that she would like to train to
become a police officer and that she wishes to begin living on her ownchoices she
knows her parents will resist. But with the help of the therapist, she feels empowered to
exercise the right to make her own decisions.

References:
1.

Bonow, J., & Follette, W. (2009). Beyond Values Clarification: Addressing Client Values in Clinical Behavior Analysis.
The Behavior Analyst, 32(1), 69-84.

2.

Marsh,
J.
(n.d.).
Clarifying
Personal
http://www.cmhc.utexas.edu/clearinghouse/files/DP007.pdf

Values.

3.

Values Clarification. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://oxford.emory.edu/life-at-oxford/student-conduct/sanctions/valuesclarification-activity

4.

Values
Clarification.
(n.d.).
Retrieved
July
10,
2015,
from
https://www.smartrecovery.org/resources/library/Tools_and_Homework/Other_Homework/Values_and_Goals_Clarific
ation.pdf

Website:
http://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/values-clarification

Retrieved

from

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