The Art and Science of Valuing in Psychotherapy: Helping Clients Discover, Explore, and Commit to Valued Action Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Valuing is central to acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), yet few therapists truly understand how to engage clients in this complex process. Questions such as What is the purpose of my life? and How do I make decisions? are difficult to answer honestly for ourselves, let alone share with another person. The Art and Science of Valuing in Psychotherapy is the mental health practitioner's complete guide to helping clients identify their values and apply them to their lives in practical ways. You will also learn to establish your own values as a professional, which may shift from client to client, and act in accordance with these values in therapy.

The book provides you with practical tools for conducting values work, including easy-to-understand metaphors, defusion exercises, guided imagery exercises, scripts for role play, client worksheets, assessment quizzes, and more. Once you've mastered the art and science of valuing, you'll find out just how broad the applications for values work can be for conceptualization and interventions in the workplace, in organizations, and on the community level, and discover how effective values work can be for tapping into your clients' capacity for change.

[The Art and Science of Valuing in Psychotherapy] will illuminate how a focus on values can inform every aspect of psychotherapy, from case conceptualization to the therapeutic relationship. At once accessible and profound… highly recommended.
-Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., University of Nevada Foundation Professor of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno

JoAnne Dahl, PhD, is professor of psychology at Uppsala University, Sweden. JoAnne is a clinical psychologist specializing in behavior medicine. She is coauthor of the The Art and Science of Valuing in Psychotherapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain, Living Beyond Your Pain, and ACT and RFT in Relationships.
 

Jennifer C. Plumb, MA, is an advanced clinical psychology doctoral student at the University of Nevada, Reno, working with Steven Hayes, PhD She has practiced ACT since 2004, working primarily with patients who have anxiety, depression, and interpersonal relationship difficulties. Her primary interest is psychotherapy process and outcome research with a specific focus on applying values to clinical work from a clinical behavior analysis, relational frame theory, and ACT perspective.

Ian Stewart, PhD, is a faculty member in the school of psychology at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He is coauthor of The Art and Science of Valuing in Psychotherapy and ACT and RFT in Relationships, and coeditor of The Self and Perspective Taking.

Tobias Lundgren, MS, is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in cognitive behavior therapy and ACT. He is an active clinician and a researcher in the areas of behavior medicine, psychometrics, and self-destructive behavior. Lundgren is affiliated with the psychology department at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, and has conducted research in many developing countries.